Stewardship Department

Our Mission

Remind the people who are the Diocese of West Texas, that all that we are and all that we have belongs to God.  Everything is a gift from God and we are the stewards - not only of our financial resources, but also of this created earth, our time, our talents, our families, our relationships, life itself, but most importantly God's word.

Provide the tools for churches to develop the financial resources that under gird their own mission and ministry.  Thinking not in terms of what we can afford, but in terms of what we need!

Comprehensive Stewardship

During 2002, the department restructured the "stewardship" role into four distinct divisions: Annual Giving, Capital Giving, Legacy Giving, and Missionary Giving.  Each type of giving requires a structure and core knowledge appropriate for its process. All consultants will be tithers.  Each will be commissioned as a minister of the Diocese.

Annual Giving

Chaired by Kirk Mason, this division is committed to provide educational resources in conjunction with commitment programs to help each congregation with the goal of year round stewardship.  To that end, extensive resource material from The Episcopal Network for Stewardship (TENS) is available free of charge to each parish or mission upon request.  These detailed action booklets for developing the annual commitment programs include:  The Faithful Member Home Visitation Program, The Cottage Meeting Commitment Program, The Festive Meal Commitment Program and The Personal Note Commitment Program. Trained Annual Giving Consultants who function in teams of two or three will be available to all congregations. The training will focus on presenter, consultant, trainer and facilitator skills.

Capital Giving

Ed Hodge (St. Luke’s, San Antonio) oversaw the creation of this division with a Capital Campaign Coaches training in October 2002.  For those churches considering capital campaigns, consultants help vestries determine degree of congregational readiness and then planning the education process that produces readiness in a congregation, They will do feasibility studies; coach the advance gifts portion of the campaign; and teach the mechanics required for a successful campaign including the development of a realistic timeline of activities.  They will also help determine the need for outside professional assistance and provide a listing of proven consulting firms.

Legacy Giving

Under the leadership of Allan Paterson (Christ Church, San Antonio) a group of attorneys, estate planners and investment advisors specializing in estate planning, taxes and investing for retirement have been gathered.  They have developed a legacy stewardship vestry presentation, a one-hour congregational presentation and a three-hour “Final Affairs” presentation focusing on the meaning of Christian stewardship, wills and the probate process, estate planning tools, and death and dying issues. Because Non-profit organizations receive 90% of their charitable gifts through simple bequests, this division will focus on developing and implementing congregational “Wills Clinic.”

Steering Committee

Serving as oversight and coordination between divisions

Department Chair:

• Ted Burkhart, St. Luke's, San Antonio
  e-mail: ted.burkhart@ubs.com

Division Chairs:

• Kirk Mason, Annual Giving Division
  e-mail: kirkbmason@worldnet.att.net
• Ed Hodge, Capital Giving Division
  e-mail: ed.hodge@compassbnk.com
• Allan Paterson, Legacy Giving Division
  e-mail: agpaters@coxsmith.com

Staff Laision:

• Nancy Stinson, Diocese of West Texas (210 or 888) 824-5387
  e-mail: nancy.stinson@dwtx.org

A Prayer

For Comprehensive Stewardship

Empower us by the presence of the Holy Spirit to be prophetic voices defining what it means to be a generous giver rather than a calculated taker.

Help us learn how to give of our love rather than from our need to control.

• Out of our faithfulness rather than our duty
• Out of our truthfulness rather than our untruthfulness and apology
• Out of our sense of integrated unity rather than from our sharp edges of disunity

Help us remember that it is in the selfless act of giving the very best that we have that we are able to honor you as the very source of all that we are and all that we will every be.

Help us remember that giving is ultimately far less defined simply by money and far more defined by an understanding that giving frames the very nature of our souls.

Help us show others the great privilege of giving and the great honor of receiving the blessed gifts of an always present Christ who knows us and calls us by name.  Amen