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Going deeper:
Stewardship at Church of the Covenant, Junction City

By Melodie Woerman
Editor, The Harvest

For the people of Church of the Covenant, Junction City, “Casting into Deep Waters” is more than just the theme for last year’s convention, or even the title of a diocesan-created stewardship program.

It has become the means to an increased level of stewardship that has its basis in the theology of abundance.

Theological basis

Char DeWitt, diocesan Director of Development and Stewardship, worked with the diocesan Stewardship and Development Committee to create a ready-to-use stewardship program.

They wrote it with an eye toward helping smaller parishes that couldn’t develop their own or purchase an off-the-shelf program.

For Covenant, it was the key to increased giving.

The rector, the Very Rev. Dale Plummer, said this program really worked for them, mainly by providing a theological message that was reinforced throughout the program.

The numbers bear it out. Pledging increased more than 6 percent over 2006 levels, topping $82,000 for the parish of 212 baptized members.

Considering the transient nature of the parish, located adjacent to Fort Riley and its rotating population of Army officers and enlisted personnel, the results are even more impressive.

The parish really got into the spirit of the program, too. Since it used lots of water-related images — shorelines, boats and such — Plummer created visuals that reflected that theme.

He set up a display in the parish hall, and decorated it in a nautical theme with boats and fish nets.

During coffee hour members wrote their blessings onto fish-shaped paper cutouts and placed them into the net, helping to reinforce images of abundance and discipleship.

Plummer said that in the past he’d assumed that those who wanted to pledge would, and those who didn’t, wouldn’t.

The intentional nature of this approach has changed his mind and those of other parishioners.

Shelley Kite said, “In the past we had letters we mailed out, but we really didn’t have an in-depth knowledge of where people were spiritually, individually and as a parish. The theological tie-in was important and a real strength in our increased numbers.”