Mavis & Al Streyffeler: This is why we give

Last Spring I received a call from Sharon Clapp, Director of Giving and Development of the United Methodist Foundation in Nashville inviting me to share my story of generosity.  We had set up a Charitable Gift Annuity with the Northern Illinois Conference United Methodist Foundation and they had passed our name on to the national foundation.  I agreed to share the story of our giving to the church along with some photos of my life including the enclosed photo of me while in a boat on Lake Kariba in Northwest Zimbabwe sometime in the early ‘90′s

Mavis and I each received a portion of the receipts from the sale of the Dreier and Streyffeler farms in 2007.  Because we have always been careful about planning for our retirement we were clear that we had sufficient funds from pension programs, social security and other investments to be able to live comfortably without the additional monies received from the sale of the farms.  Thus we set about “giving the Streyffeler farm away.”

I have been committed to the social justice witness of the Sojourners Foundation in Washington D.C. (you may have heard of Jim Wallis who is frequently interviewed regarding religious trends and issues in our time).  So we sat down with representatives of that foundation in our living room and wrote out a check for $50,000.  The only other time I have signed my name to a check that large was for the down payment on the house we currently live in.  Another $50,000 was given in smaller amounts to various organizations in the life of the church including a special mission fund at Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary, my alma mater, to encourage seminary students to take mission trips to explore the work of the church.

Finally, we set up a Charitable Gift Annuity with the Northern Illinois Conference Foundation and once again our dining room table became the altar on which we offered our gift–this time for $125,000.  Each June we receive the interest on that money which we use beyond local church giving to support various organizations, political causes, and missional projects including ongoing work in the Senegal Mission.  When I die that annuity will go to the Board of Church and Society of the United Methodist Church in Washington, DC to support justice ministries and church builders within the Northern Illinois Conference.   Thus the farm keeps producing.

After exploring the Urban Village Church from a distance (Naperville) since its inception, we decided to move into Chicago in May and are now committing our tithe to the congregation because we are committed to church planting.

I hope that as you read “One Donor’s Story” you will be drawn to consider how you are involved in this Streyffeler story of generosity which extends back several generations and lives on in each of us.

–Al (and Mavis) Streyffeler

If the Streyffelers’s testimony inspires you and Urban Village Church is becoming your community, pray about making a financial commitment yourself. Click the “Give” tab on the menu above for more information.

Donnie Cottingham: This is why I give

I first came to Urban Village about a year and a half ago, both excited and nervous to try a church that “does church differently”. After a few weeks I found myself getting involved in a small group and through that I could clearly see God at work in peoples’ lives. I was able to take part in faith conversations that might not be welcomed at some other churches, especially the ones I grew up attending.

I feel blessed to have joined a church community that encourages me to engage in such conversations, accepts me for who I am, and challenges me to grow spiritually at the same time. Because of that blessing I feel joy in being able to help spread the news of a loving God, as well as help support this faith community through which God is working.

I started giving to Urban Village financially because I felt it was the next step of involvement for me in my faith journey. Giving allows me to make a tangible contribution to helping this community grow and also challenges me to rely on God in a real way.

I’ve found that God provides more than enough for us, and calls us to give some of what we don’t need so that it can be used for something greater than a new pair of shoes or jeans- and something great is exactly what I see God doing throughout this wonderful faith community.

–Donnie Cottingham

If Donnie’s testimony inspires you and Urban Village Church is becoming your community, pray about making a financial commitment yourself. Click the “Give” tab on the menu above for more information.

Ellen Feliciano: This is why I give

I started attending Urban Village in the Summer of 2010.   I had been a part of another church for a long time, and despite being very involved in the life of the church, had found myself feeling more and more burned out.   Although I was active in a number of ways, some essential spark was missing, and I was feeling spiritually dry.   On the first day I visited, I was deeply moved by many elements of the worship service at Urban Village; I quickly decided to commit myself to be a part of this exciting new church.  As time passed, being a part of this incredible community and helped me to deepen my relationship with and my spirit has been refreshed and filled to overflowing.

So much of the vision for Urban Village really fit with what I was looking for in a church home.  One element that particularly spoke to me was the inclusiveness; Jesus demonstrated radical inclusiveness that tore down barriers; he consistently welcomed the least, the lost and the last. Over the years, I have encountered so many people who have been deeply hurt and even excluded by their church.  I believe that as disciples we are called to continue to tear down those barriers, to actively include everyone.  Church is meant to be a place of healing and community for those who are hurting.  It is a place to share our joys, our sorrows, our doubts and fears with a community that welcomes all of who we are.  There are so many opportunities for community, including the many small groups throughout the city.

It is also important to me to be part of a church that lives out its faith in tangible ways.  I find that Urban Village is out in the world in real ways, serving at Grace Place and Ravenswood Outreach, helping with urban gardening, helping rebuild in Haiti and so many other ways.

I believe that maintaining my relationship with God is like maintaining any other relationship; I need to commit to it and work at it.  Just as our friends drift away when we don’t commit to nurturing the relationship, we can drift away from God if we don’t work at our faith journey.  One of the tangible ways I can live out my faith and nurture that relationship is to commit both time and money to supporting the work of Urban Village.  Giving is a spiritual discipline that is an important part of my faith journey.   Pledging financially is, for me, an important act of commitment and one way of saying thank you for all that God has given me.   The act of giving alone is a discipline.  Intentionally being in prayer, then planning out what I can give, what I can give up in order to give a little more, and then making a commitment and following through is for me a deeper and more meaningful discipline.  And it is a discipline that helps me on my faith journey.

–Ellen Feliciano

If Ellen’s testimony inspires you and Urban Village Church is becoming your community, pray about making a financial commitment yourself. Click the “Give” tab on the menu above for more information.

Scott Saxsma: This is why I give

Giving for me started as a young child, where each week, my parents and I would sit down and divvy up my lawn mowing money into three envelopes: there was the church envelope, the saving envelope, and the spending envelope. At the time, it always seemed like it would be much better to pitch two of them, and have all of the money go into the spending envelope, but I applaud them for starting me off on a lifelong habit.

At one point in high school, while teaching the preschool class at my church’s Vacation Bible School, we had a competition between grade levels: whoever could raise the most money by the end of the week from our daily offerings got a prize. By day 4, the preschoolers were woefully behind. But I, in my smug little way, decided to send the preschoolers into first place by tossing in all of my accumulated summer tithe money on the last day. It probably didn’t amount to a whole bunch at the time, but I got the biggest kick out of watching all the preschoolers’ eyes light up upon finding out that they had pulled into the lead after being dead last, and would be winners of the prize.

As I grew older and my income began to grow, the 10% that we always put into the church envelope grew from a few dollars a month to a few hundred. Yet the prospect of continuing to give a tenth, and sometimes even more of my income continued. Eventually, God helped me begin to understand the deeper purpose of giving, and it began to evolve from the exercise enforced by my folks to something I enjoyed and chose to continue on my own.

In college, an anonymous donor paid for a plane ticket to Germany for me so I could take an unpaid internship there instead of a more lucrative option at home. I never will know who that donor was, but that event helped illustrate the point for me. The ability to empower another person less fortunate, to help someone achieve a goal that they weren’t able to accomplish otherwise, is an intensely joyful experience and a blessing from God, even when you never receive a thank-you card in return, The original intention of giving is to bless others, yet God often blesses those who give just as richly.

Since that time, giving has morphed from an exercise in obligation to one of joy and happiness. Following my college graduation, I returned the favor and donated a plane ticket to a student going to Germany on a summer internship. The next year, I donated three, and this year, five tickets’ worth. I have no idea who that money goes to, and it doesn’t even matter. The feeling of being able to bless someone in this way is one of God’s most wonderful blessings. I may not be a pastor or missionary, and yet God can work through me as a “normal” person to change the world – even if it’s the world of only a single person. Now that I am a member of Urban Village, and I see the wonderful things we are doing in the community, I have begun to support our work as well, and I continue to give as much as I am able. Sometimes it’s almost frustrating because there are more things I would like to give to, but am limited in my means. But as God continues to bless me, I continue to give, even as one person with limited means, and want to bless others right back. It feels like a way of saying “thank you” to God, and it’s one of the most joyful things I’ve ever done.

–Scott Saxsma

If Scott’s testimony inspires you and Urban Village Church is becoming your community, pray about making a financial commitment yourself. Click the “Give” tab on the menu above for more information.

Jess and Craig Root: This is why we give

We ended up at UVC about a year ago after our good friends saw an ad on the Blue Line.  The idea of going to a church that allowed doubts, encouraged questions, and genuinely accepted people from all walks of life was appealing.  Within a few weeks we knew that we had found the closest thing to a “church home” that we’d known in the past few years.

We were excited to get involved, meet new people, and invest our time and energy into the UVC community.  As time went on we not only enjoyed the Sunday services, but we were inspired by the stories that we heard and the people sharing those stories.  It was obvious that the desire to ‘love a God who changes everything’ was influencing the way that people lived their daily lives, not just the way that they worshipped.

We attended some social gatherings, started to help out with service opportunities on a regular basis, and eventually joined a monthly small group.  Little by little, we found that UVC was changing our view of not only faith, but also the way that we think about community, our city, and our role in it all.

The decision to give financially seemed to make sense — we wanted to invest our finances as well as our time and energy.  The idea of UVC reaching people all throughout the city, spreading that message of unconditional love, and working towards justice, was inspiring.  We believe that giving financially is another way for us to invest in the mission of UVC, and that is something we’re excited about!

–Jess and Craig Root

If their testimony inspires you and Urban Village Church is becoming your community, pray about making a financial commitment yourself. Click the “Give” tab on the menu above for more information.

This is why I give :: Stewardship 2010

Friends,

It’s hard to believe that eighteen months after Urban Village Church launched, three neighborhood worship sites are running—including Andersonville, which started last week with 144 people, taking us to nearly 300 people in worship across the city!

We’re moving from worship into discipleship and service. Twenty small groups meet around the city. Faith becomes action in volunteer projects and street evangelism, inviting everybody to God’s party.

We’re also growing our staff team in number and diversity, in order to lead and equip a church planting movement for all of Chicago—in different neighborhoods and cultures, to urban families, to singles and seekers and students and skeptics.

We invite folks who consider Urban Village Church their community of faith to support God’s bold mission here! Will you make a regular financial commitment from now into 2012?

Please consider the information below about our “This is why I give” campaign and pray about what God is asking you to give. For first-time givers, we’re even launching a matching gifts ministry this year!

To contribute, click the “Give” tab on the above menu. Click on the [Pledge Your Commitment] link to fill out a simple commitment e-form. After that, we encourage you to click the blue “Donate” button to set up online giving, which is the easiest, greenest, safest way to give.

If you prefer, you can also email your commitment to give@urbanvillagechurch.org or complete a short form in worship to drop in the offering basket. However you choose to give, making a commitment by Sun., Nov. 13, will help us plan wisely for the year to come.

THIS IS WHY I GIVE :: Stewardship FAQ

What is stewardship?

The practice of stewardship reminds us that all we have is not ultimately ours, but God’s.  Our money and material possessions, as well as this good earth, are brimming with God’s grace as each sustains us.  We are called to use what we’ve been given:  grace is never to be consumed greedily or thoughtlessly, but with great generosity toward others and the work of God’s kingdom.  A challenging practice, to be sure, but we come to discover that it actually gives us more than it asks. It’s been said that nothing can make God love us any less, and nothing can make God love us any more. That’s true with financial giving. We don’t give because we have to: we give because we can. We give because our giving helps lives be changed—even our own.

Why do we invite concrete commitments in advance?

As we grow, we want to be responsible stewards for the future: we are developing a comprehensive budget for our next seasons of ministry. This budget is funded by the generosity of attenders and friends, primarily through annual commitments. Commitments (or pledges) are especially important because they help us estimate the resources available and plan accordingly.

What if I’ve never given before?

It takes only a small step to start the journey. To help, we’re starting a matching gifts ministry for new givers this year. Your first-time commitment of $250 (or some multiple of that) will be partnered with an extra gift from a seasoned giver. So your $250 pledge would become $500.

How do I make a commitment?

Click the “Give” tab on the menu above and click on the [Pledge Your Commitment] link. Even if you’re already a giver, we ask you to signal your commitment for 2012. Alternatively, you can email give@urbanvillagechurch.org or write down your commitment in worship in November.

E-giving

We encourage starting (or moving to) online giving: it’s green, consistent, and safe. Visit newchicagochurch.com/give and click the blue “Donate” button. You’ll be asked to create a profile, input your information, and specify debit, credit, or automatic account withdrawal.

How much should I pledge?

Take time to pray and discern.  We encourage giving a deliberately-chosen percentage of gross income. We are challenged to set a tithe (the Biblical word for 10% of our income) as the giving goal in our lives. Start where you can and begin the journey. Some fully tithe or give more than a tithe; others take an incremental approach—increasing their gift by 1%, 2%, or 3% per year—to gradually move toward 10%.

What if my financial circumstances change?

If you need to change your commitment at any time, just let us know. This commitment represents your voluntary giving; it’s not a binding contract. For more information, email give@urbanvillagechurch.org

Want to share a story, a response to “This is why I give”?

Email your story to give@urbanvillagechurch.org. In your email, let us know if it’s okay to share the story with the congregation.

 

Mike: This is why I give…

I attended your church for the first time this morning.  I’m new to spirituality, having just come to it through the rooms of AA, and really can’t believe I’m giving religion another shot after more than two decades of calling myself an “aggressive atheist.”  But something about your ad on the train really grabbed my attention.  All day yesterday I was excited (and frankly, baffled by my excitement) about attending your church this morning.  I was not disappointed.  In fact, I was pretty overwhelmed, both spiritually and emotionally, by what I experienced.  You have created something amazing, and I’m so happy to have found it.  I look forward to joining you next Sunday, and also to working the small groups into my life.  Me in a church – and overjoyed about it?  Miracles really can happen!

Tracey McGee: This is why I give…

This is why I give…

Here are a few of the first things I thought of when I stopped to really consider why I give to Urban Village.

1. Because it’s what I have done since I was a kid…That may not seem like a good reason to everyone but to me it’s valid.  When I was young and got $1 for my allowance or losing a tooth or any reason at all, my parents made me put aside ten cents for the church offering.  As much as I enjoyed putting money in the white plastic church that served as the offering “plate” for Sunday School, I’m sure there were times I didn’t always enjoy giving up my allowance or tooth fairy money.  However, because I’ve given regularly over the years, it feels natural and “right” for me–for lack of a better word.  My grandmother, in some ways the epitome of the Southern pastor’s wife, was one of the best examples of love and compassion a young girl could ever have in her life.  I remember once telling her that if I won the lottery I would give it all away to the church.  (To this day, I’ve never purchased one lottery ticket for myself.)  Her response still rings in my ears today:  “If people don’t give when they have a little, they won’t give when they have a lot.”  This leads me to my next reason for giving.

2. Because to me faith can’t stand alone; it needs a commitment behind it.  Although I struggle with adopting spiritual practices into my life in a routine, focused way, I feel regular giving is a commitment to my faith.  I also hope that it is a spiritual practice of a different sort and one that shows my commitment to God even when times might be tough financially.  Just as I take putting money in my savings account and 403b seriously, I want to take giving to the church just as seriously.   An investment in my future is no more important than an investment in my community is right now.   Besides, giving a little back to the community that serves me week after week seems like such a small way to show my appreciation.

3. Because giving feels good… Like most people, I spend too much money on frivolous things that are easily eaten or otherwise devoured, forgotten, or really just unnecessary in my life, but church and faith and God and giving, those are necessary.   When I give to other organizations locally or abroad, I have to trust that my money is being used wisely and honestly, but when I give to Urban Village, I see signs of its use everywhere I look.  It’s in the variety of small groups we hold all over the city, the beautiful spaces where we worship, the music that stirs my soul week after week, and thankfully, it’s so very evident in the three dedicated pastors who give so generously of themselves in a profession that doesn’t reward their dedication or service monetarily. 

I can’t tell anyone how much to give or how often and would never dare to, but I do think it’s important to truly spend time thinking about it for yourself.  (Dare I suggest praying about it?)  I really like the idea of increasing your giving monthly, yearly, or whenever works for you since actively planning your giving is a commitment to giving back to the place that welcomes us unconditionally in the name of the One who loves us all no matter what.   Now, if we could just find one of those white plastic churches to use as our offering plate…

 Tracey McGee

Generosity 2010

Last week Urban Village Church turned seven months old.  It’s hard to believe that since March, two worship sites have been launched Downtown and in Wicker Park, a discipleship ministry with over a dozen groups extends throughout the city, and hundreds of new people have experienced the life-changing love of God.   

A few weeks ago we got this email from a guest who’d joined us for worship:

I attended your church for the first time this morning.  I’m new to spirituality, having just come to it through the rooms of AA, and really can’t believe I’m giving religion another shot after more than two decades of calling myself an “aggressive atheist.”  But something about your ad on the train really grabbed my attention.  All day yesterday I was excited (and frankly, baffled by my excitement) about attending your church this morning.  I was not disappointed.  In fact, I was pretty overwhelmed, both spiritually and emotionally, by what I experienced.  You have created something amazing, and I’m so happy to have found it.  I look forward to joining you next Sunday, and also to working the small groups into my life.  Me in a church – and overjoyed about it?  Miracles really can happen!

That was written by a man named Mike.  His testimony is just one among many others from hundreds of diverse people—believers and doubters, Democrats and Republicans, gay and straight people—whose lives are being changed by God’s love.

As we grow toward our first birthday, we invite you to make a regular financial commitment from now into 2011. When financial times are rocky, whatever happens on Wall Street, whoever controls Congress, we give, because through our generosity real human lives are really changed.

If you decide to contribute, visit http://www.newchicagochurch.com/give/ where you can sign up to give online (designate giving to Chicago Loop: Urban Village). You can also email info@urbanvillagechurch.org with your commitment.

Some FAQs on giving:

What is stewardship?
Though it is tempting to replace the word “stewardship” with a less antiquated – and perhaps preconceived – word or phrase, there is good reason to continue talking about how we consume and expend as “stewardship.”  It reminds us that all we have and that is available to us is not ultimately ours, but God’s.  Our money and material possessions, as well as this good earth, are brimming with God’s grace as each sustains us.  Claiming this helps us understand how we are called to use what we’ve been given:  grace is never to be consumed greedily or thoughtlessly, but with great generosity toward others and the work of God’s kingdom.  This is what is means to be trustworthy financial and ecological stewards.  A challenge to be sure, but one we’re given permission to practice and grow into until we discover stewardship always gives more than it asks.

The goal of giving

It’s been said that nothing can make God love us any less, and nothing can make God love us any more.  That’s true with financial giving. We don’t give because we have to: we give because we can. We give because our giving helps lives be changed—even our own lives!

 

Why are we focusing on it now?

As Urban Village turns seven months old, we are trying to be responsible stewards for the seasons ahead: we are developing a comprehensive budget to grow our ministry. This budget is funded by the generosity of attenders and friends, primarily through annual commitments. Commitments (or pledges) are especially important because they help us estimate the resources available and plan accordingly.  In the recent turmoil of the markets, we’ve seen what can happen when close attention is not paid. Your commitment helps us pay close attention to our mission.  If you haven’t made a commitment before, we invite you to consider it.  Proportional giving—offering a reflective portion of your annual income—is a great help to our planning.  

How do I make a commitment?
You can put your commitment card in the offering baskets in worship anytime, email your commitment to info@urbanvillagechurch.org, or mail your commitment card to Urban Village Church, PO Box A3882, Chicago, IL 60690.
 

Can I give electronically?

We highly encourage it! You can give online through automatic account withdrawal or credit card payment. Visit www.newchicagochurch.com/give for more information. You’ll be asked to create a profile to input to your banking information and then can specify your regular donation amount to “Chicago Loop: Urban Village Church” from the list of congregations. If you choose to give electronically we still ask that you complete and return a commitment card.

 
If my financial circumstances change, can I change my commitment?
Yes.  This commitment represents your voluntary giving to the ministry of this church for the next year.  It is not a binding contract between you and the church.  If you need to change your commitment at any time, just let us know.
 
How do I determine how much to pledge?
Take time to pray and discern.  Your generosity makes a tremendous difference! It enables us to live our bold, inclusive mission of Loving a God who changes everything—in seasons of abundance and seasons of scarcity. Urban Village Church encourages the practice of giving a deliberately-chosen percentage of gross income to support our mission. We are challenged to set a tithe (the Biblical word for 10% of our income) as the giving goal in our lives. Can you make this generous sacrifice this year? Or start where you can and begin the journey!  While some individuals may fully tithe or can give more than a tithe, others take an incremental approach—increasing their annual commitment by 1%, 2%, or even 3% per year—to gradually work their way to giving a full 10%. 

Questions?  Email us at info@urbanvillagechurch.org

Dan Farrell: This is why I give…

My name is Dan Farrell, and I give to Urban Village. 

For the first 17 years of my life, every month, the following scene would unfold:

On the first, my dad would sit down with the bills and write checks.  In addition to all of the usual bills, every month he also wrote checks to a variety of Christian organizations and missionaries that my parents supported.  They believed very strongly – and still do – in “tithing,” the practice of giving away 10 percent of their income.

About a week after my dad paid the bills, my mom would sit down and balance the check book.  And without fail, she would furrow her brow and make the alarming statement: “We are in the cushion!”  I didn’t know much about money, but I did know that this was not a privileged financial position. 

In fact, when I was 12, I remember making the following snarky retort: “Well perhaps you should stop giving so much of your money away, and invest in some birth control.” By then I already had 1 brother, three sisters and my mom was pregnant again. And I remember my mom’s response back to me:  “That is not our money.”

When I was in sophomore in college, my parents called to say that my dad was being forced out of the military.  They told me that he had decided to go back to college, and that their income was going to be about 40 percent of what they had been making. Although they had already paid for my second semester, financially I was now on my own.

That summer, my family moved into a little rental house with orange countertops, wall-to-wall brown carpeting – in the kitchen! — and a basement that constantly flooded.  Although money was extremely tight, my parents continued to tithe a full ten percent of their income. 

I remember asking my mom, “Why are you doing this?”  And her response to me was the same as it had been when I was 12:  “It’s not our money.” Then she added:  “It helps your father and me remember who we are.”  Even we had to get by on far less and eat a lot potato soup, giving money to the church was not negotiable.

During this time, all that talk of “being in the cushion” stopped.  The feeling of scarcity that was so much a part of my childhood was replaced with my parents’ unshakeable faith that God was going to provide for us. As simplistic as it sounds, their faith sort of rubbed off on the rest of my brothers and sisters.  Our expectations shifted and we realized that we were fine.  Not just fine, but blessed.

It’s been many years since I was in college, and I have always given to the church.  I don’t give a full 10 percent like my parents do.  In fact, I give under 2 percent right now.  I have made it easy on myself though and have my contribution directly pulled from my account. 

Like many of you, my money flies in a lot of directions each month – mortgage, taxes, student loans, credit card payments. But each month, I give to Urban Village. I give because I like knowing that part of my salary is going to something larger than just me – something I believe in. 

I give because in doing so, I remember who I am.