Reaffirming our Commitment to the Mission of PCOL, a stewardship process featuring “Cottage Meetings”
Each fall, our congregation is asked to pledge financial support to enable the church to do its work in the coming year. Each year, many members and families respond very generously, enabling the congregation to sustain an inspiring and diverse mission. PCOL has had a 314-year history of sharing our blessings with others, reaching beyond our church walls into our community, our nation and our world. This is a mission that we can be proud of – a mission that merits our continued support.
At the request of Session, the Stewardship Committee has been planning a new approach for this fall’s financial commitment program for 2013. This approach, known as Cottage Meetings, has served congregations from different denominations across the country very well – both in terms of fellowship and stewardship formation. We hope it will help us in Lawrenceville to “reaffirm our commitment” even more strongly.
The basics:
- All members will be invited to participate in a Member Gathering, a meeting of about 12-15 members hosted by a member or member family, which will run about 75-90 minutes.
- Member Gatherings will be scheduled between October 8 and November 3, at a variety of dates, times and locations so that members can sign up to attend one that is convenient for them.
- Carefully selected print materials will be distributed in advance, including a “narrative budget.”
- At each Member Gathering:
- Attendees will first come together informally over light refreshments.
- A designated “witness” will speak personally about her or his experience with the church and reasons for giving, answering what is it about PCOL that is especially important to her/him.
- A designated “discussion leader” will convene a group discussion about what we value in the mission and work of our church and, to the extent those attending are comfortable, our general perspectives on financial support, and the relationship between living generously and giving to the church. No attendee will be asked to reveal personal giving information.
- Pledge cards will be distributed with a request that they be submitted on November 4, Commitment Sunday.
The overall schedule for the effort will be:
9/16 Member sign-ups for Member Gatherings begin (online and at church on Sunday mornings)
9/29 Team-Building session with guest leader Bruce Rockwell at Pennington Presbyterian Church for hosts, discussion leaders, witnesses and church officers. Coffee and comestibles available at 8:30 AM; program from 9:00 AM until noon.
9/30 End of 1st phase of sign-ups and beginning of follow-ups
10/8 Member Gatherings begin
11/3 Member Gatherings end
11/4 Commitment Sunday
This approach is grounded in the conviction that stewardship is not just a program, not the annual fall “fund-raising campaign”, and not just about our church’s need to receive funds. Rather, stewardship is central to spiritual life. When we live and give generously out of gratefulness for God’s many blessings, we reaffirm our commitment to PCoL’s worthy and important mission, and contribute to the work of God in the world at large.
All members should rest assured that they will not encounter any high-pressure salesmanship at the Member Gathering they attend. We earnestly urge every member to participate. You will learn more about the process in various electronic and paper postings in the weeks ahead.
We look forward to being with you at one of the Member Gatherings in October!
