Pray first, then write the thank-you letter

Are you a prayer expert yet? Me neither! But I keep at it.

Giving is a spiritual discipline like prayer. Both are lifelong practices, and there’s always something new to discover.

I’m preparing for my webinar tomorrow (Wednesday March 9th 1 p.m. EST) and I’m starting with the Circle of Grace model of giving. We need to able to talk about giving with God at the centre, rather than focusing on the budget. Once we can do that, the money conversation is much easier.

Then we are going to work on offering prayers specific to each attendee’s congregation. I’m looking forward to this because I had an aha moment. Once you can write an offering prayer, you can write a thank-you letter - which we will do next. Both are grateful acknowledgements of everything we have received from God, and the blessing of being able to share with God’s people.

An offering prayer might begin with “Generous God, we give in grateful response to everything you have given us.” A thank-you letter might begin in the same way: “We worship a generous God and I am grateful for the faithful donors at St. Andrew’s who share what God has given them.”

We’ll finish with some questions to ask your church treasurer, whom we should also pray for.

I hope you find encouragement in your work today, and that both prayer and generosity inform your vocation.

P.S. If you’d like to join tomorrow’s webinar, it costs $19.95 and you can register here. There will be lots of space for questions and anyone interested in stewardship is welcome.