Generous Seasons

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Generous Advent

Christmas is coming and Advent lights the way. Celebrate the overflowing generosity of God who so loved the world that he gave his only Son (John 3:16), as we celebrate God’s generosity the Gospel invites us to live and give generously.

Generous Advent is a creative opportunity to do two things:

  • To celebrate the generosity of our God using the fabulous and resources, all freely available and adaptable
  • To invite generous giving, as people are able, to sustain and grow the mission of ministry of our churches: “my gift to my church for our future”

1.Choose your dates

Generous Advent can be run over two Sundays, using the standard Generosity Week template, the first Sunday explores Generosity, the second Gratitude. You could host Generous Advent on the Sunday before Advent (“Stir-Up Sunday”) and Advent Sunday or on Advent One and Two. We’ve adapted the collects for the Advent season.

2. Design your programme

Below are the resources you can choose from to design your Generous Advent Programme. Use as many or few as you need to create a warm and reflective space for your church.

  • Sermon Notes
    • Introduction to Haggai – download
    • Notes and Sermon for Christ The King Sunday – download
    • Notes and Sermon for The First Sunday in Advent – download
  • Generosity Fika (Smaller Group Study with Videos) Preview here

Gather in a smaller group for an evening, or after a midweek service, for cake and coffee. Follow the outline for the session outlined in the document, using the videos linked below and reflect on how the story of Haggai and the rebuilding of the Temple helps us consider how we steward our church buildings, and our own finances. (Videos filmed and produced by Ruth Bayes)

 

  • Prayers

This pack contains images and instructions for creating beautiful prayer stations to help us ponder the generosity of our generous God in a tactile and accessible way. Created with the diocese of York, the stations are interactive, great for children, adults and family groups they help look at generosity through a seasonal lens.

3.Signpost your events and prepare for a response!

Advent and Christmas will see many visitors in our churches. People enjoy carols by candlelight, crib and Christingle services, Christmas tree festivals and more and they value their church. So ‘go digital’ this Christmas. You can download the Generous Advent Logo and images below. Here are some top tips:

  • Add your Generous Advent events to your AChurchNearYou.com page for those seeking to visit your church during the festive season.
  • Post images of your activities to your church social media pages. If you make up the prayer stations, we would love to see how they look in your church setting.
  • Pray about your planned programme. Churches are busier than ever, and it can be hard to find peace and quiet during the festive season. Pray that ‘the greatest story ever told’ reaches new ears, refreshes tired souls, and warms cold hearts.
  • Finally, prepare to receive donations and gifts by;
  1. Having your church contactless machine turned on!
  2. Advertising the Parish Giving Scheme through posters, flyers and links on your social media (see the Parish Giving Scheme page)
  3. Making sure people can donate you your church via your website/ACNY page using a link to your online giving provider, e.g. Parish Giving Scheme, GiveALittle, JustGiving.

 

The Joy of Christmas

Last, but by no means least, check out the comprehensive resources here. This is the Church of England’s annual advent and Christmas campaign and it has huge reach. The 2021 Christmas content was seen 27 million times on social media with 1.2 million views of online services. So, make these brilliant resources work for you as you share the good news of God’s abundant generosity with your congregation and

Generous Lent

Generous Lent

We are encouraging you to take part in Generous Lent with resources to help you use lent to think about giving in your church context.

Generous Lent offers some ‘out of the box’ resources to help congregations explore generous discipleship this Lent. Over the octave of the first two Sundays of Lent churches have the opportunity to do two things:

  1. To celebrate the generosity of our God and to explore the spiritual discipline of generosity and the Gospel’s invitation to generous discipleship
  2. Optionally, as a Lenten discipline, to invite generous giving as people are able, to sustain and grow the mission and ministry of the local church.

There is a natural rhythm in life that is essential to our human flourishing. There is also a rhythm in the spiritual life, just as vital to our personal and shared discipleship as followers of Jesus.

Lent is part of that rhythm, a special season in the life of the church. In Lent we not only wait for Easter, we wait upon God and do business with God. Lent is a season of self-reflection and self-discipline, Lent invites us to read God’s word. Lent invites us to the spiritual disciplines of prayer and fasting and the giving of alms – what today we call generous giving. It is an invitation to generous discipleship.

Generous Lent Resources

Generous Lent offers a range of resources themed on the Baptism and Temptation of Jesus (the first Sunday of Lent) and the Feeding of the Five Thousand (the second Sunday of Lent). Background notes and sample sermons are offered to support preaching alongside themed liturgy for both sermons. A congregational leaflet and a creative range of prayer and all-age activities are also offered.

Sermon Notes

Liturgical Resources

Reflections on a Generous Lent

Prayer Activities

  • Lent Prayer Stations – developed with the deanery of Wigan. Flexible and adaptable prayer stations offer a focus for personal and family prayer over the Generous Lent octave or until Passion Sunday
  • Group Activities – Linked to prayer stations, a range of interactive material adaptable to all age worship or the Ministry of the Word in separate children’s groups. The resources include an all age Shrove Tuesday activity

Letters and response forms

Alongside prayer and fasting, generosity is a traditional spiritual discipline (Matthew 6:2, 5,16). If you want to use Generous Lent as an occasion to write to congregations inviting a prayerful review of giving please contact the resources.team@liverpool.anglican.org for customisable letter and response form templates.

 

Other useful resources

National Giving Team  – Generosity Week

You may also want to note the comprehensive Generosity Week resources from the National Giving Team which can be adapted for Lent. 

Acts of Kindness and Generosity

You may want to check out the archived random acts of kindness and generosity, resources developed for Lent for over ten years by the charity Stewardship www.stewardship.org.uk

Generous Harvest (Generosity Week)

What is National Generosity Week?

National Generosity Week is designed to give us the time and space to reflect on God’s generosity and to celebrate it within our church’s ministry and mission. By the end of Generosity Week, all of us will have a deeper understanding of God’s generosity towards us and how we can live more generously in our daily lives. These resources will give you the chance to ‘dig in’ deeper and reflect upon your life and your generosity as a church.

What is the focus?

We will be looking at the book of Ruth and her life journey of generosity, both giving of herself and receiving from others. Practically, we will be asking people to respond by:

    • Reviewing their giving

    • Considering leaving a gift of life with a Legacy

What resources are available?

Liturgy

    • Readings: Week 1 & Week 2. If you find that the readings included in the documents above are too long, you can use this to find ‘selected’ readings from Ruth.

Sermon Outlines

Prayer Stations

    • These prayer stations are interactive and help us to reflect on God’s generosity to us. Set up prayer stations for use before, during or after a Harvest-themed service.

Small Group Activity – Generosity Fika

    • The Fika is based upon a Swedish notion of sharing 7 different types of cake over coffee and conversation. A Generosity Fika is a place for people to gather to discuss and embody generosity and hospitality. We have developed a new version of this resource with a harvest theme, including a video with local people sharing their experiences of generosity and giving in church.

Daily Prayer

Children & Youth Activities

This pack includes 2 Sunday sessions for both Children’s Group (ages 5-11) and Young People (ages 12-18). Children’s sessions include a retelling of the story of Ruth for children and an activity for children’s workers to use during Sunday sessions for ages 5-11. Youth resources include a bible study and activities for ages 12-18.

Whole Church Activity – Harvest Supper

Host a traditional Harvest supper meal with your church to celebrate the season and all the good gifts God has given us.

Generous Harvest Flyer

The flyer recaps the themes in the book of Ruth, and includes prayer and actions we can take to respond to God’s generosity. This is also intended for use alongside the Harvest Supper.

Making it easy for people to give

    • Edit your own Giving Flyer with the 3 asks – here

    • Add your QR codes to a bespoke giving poster – here

    • Update Your Contactless Machine Screen. Use the template here to download your screen, or contact Lucia to help.

    • ‘Making the ask’ on social media – Download the social media graphics to upload to your Facebook page, Instagram, WhatsApp group etc. Include the appropriate links to support people in making their gift, e.g. PGS graphic will need a link to your PGS page, found on www.parishgiving.org.uk

Parish Giving Scheme (PGS) materials

How easy is it for people in your church to sign up to the PGS? You can use personalised flyers, pew cards and information brochures to explain the benefits of the PGS to givers. Find the template links to edit your own on the PGS page or, contact the Resources Team for support with this.

Plan your Social Events

Whether you run a Generosity Fika or a Harvest Supper with your church, give people plenty of notice. Include notifications in your church email, newsletter, notices, social media and WhatsApp Groups.

National Giving Team Resources

The National Giving Team have collated resources for Generosity Week over the last few years, see here. Note that the 2023 Liverpool resources will be harvest-themed

Training

Watch this video on ‘How to run Generosity Week’ by Newcastle Diocese. Please make sure to read the Talking Money Bulletin for regular updates on this.

Contact the Resources Team for advice on what might work for your context.