These notes call for fresh thinking on how the model of a paid Church Administrator needs to be adapted for small churches.
A tale of two fuchsias
Last week, I was working with our gardening club whose volunteers look after our grounds. I became most concerned at the state of a fuchsia which was looking far from its usual buoyant self. Its leaves had turned yellow, its floral bells looked tired and were withering, and it projected an air of being altogether sick and struggling.
At the front of the building, another fuchsia was proud and strong, its branches laden with radiant scarlet bells and enjoying the hot weather that had recently arrived.
GIVT Editorial - A view on exploring online giving solutions
As churches need to get to grips with different ways to administer their Sunday offering, one of the leading providers GIVT offer this editorial with some thoughts on the subject.
Please note this article represents external content provided by GIVT (givtapp.net)
Church finances in a time of pandemic. Three responses for the local church
I wonder how much money, or the lack of it, has been talked about in your churches in the last few months? A great deal? Not much? Never? Of course, there have been many other pressing priorities and issues to occupy us, quite apart from the fact that money is not a subject we always find easy to discuss, even in ‘ordinary’ times. Perhaps, then, it might be best to begin by publicly acknowledging that, for quite a few of our churches, there is a financial problem that we need to discuss?
A strategy to beat Pandemic
Organising your small groups
Who's afraid of the farmer?
God's irresistible transformation
In Acts 9 we read of Saul’s encounter with Jesus on the Damascus Road, and his sudden and unexpected experience of being rendered blind. Done to him, it plunged him into darkness and removed from him every confidence, certainty, and comfort that he was previously used to, and made him dependent upon others.
Post Covid-19 lockdown: Developing a Wellbeing Action Plan
2020 has been a year of unexpected disruption, change and transition. For church staff team members, as with many others, this will have likely affected the physical location of their work, the quantity of work, the type of work, the focus of their work and their relationships with work colleagues. Huge uncertainty still exists and many changes are ahead. The mental health charity Ginger has recently reported that nearly 7 out of 10 people cite the Covid-19 lockdown as the most stressful time in their career. What approach is your church or you as a manager taking to looking after the wellbeing of your team during this time of uncertainty?
One approach is to develop a Wellness Action Plan for each team member. WAPs are based on Mary Ellen Copeland's Wellness Recovery Action Plans (WRAP) and are advised by the mental health charity Mind as a way of looking after your team. Putting a Wellness Action Plan together is a task to be completed mutually by the line manager and the direct report and is a great way to value the individual's feelings, recognise the challenges of transition and proactively support your team in the times ahead. You can read Mind's excellent guidance here: https://www.mind.org.uk/workplace/mental-health-at-work/taking-care-of-your-staff/employer-resources/wellness-action-plan-download/. Here is what Rachel Slough (Consultant and tutor on the UCAN Managing Church Well course) has to say about developing a Wellbeing action plan:
PPE available for churches
Christian procurement specialists 2buy2.com are supporting the PPE requirements of churches throughout the UK by creating a PPE buying group. 2buy2 are working with international experts to ensure churches have access to competitively priced supplies that are sourced from audited supply chains to ensure quality and ethical supply. The closing date for the first sign-up to the group buying service is 6pm on Wednesday 17th June, with delivery time expected as 8 weeks. Find out more details here: https://www.2buy2.com/personal-protective-equipment-ppe