Get ready! National Generosity Week this year runs from Sunday 29th September – Sunday 6th October. Of course, you can run generosity week at any time. We have designed these resources for Harvest time, and we are encouraging all churches to get involved.
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
- Joining the Parish Giving Scheme
- Considering leaving a gift of life with a Legacy
What resources are available?
Liturgy
- Eucharist for Generosity Week 1: Download as PDF to Print as a booklet for A5, or, download as a Word Doc
- Service of the Word Week 1: Download as PDF to Print as a booklet for A5, or, download as a Word Doc
- Eucharist for Gratitude Week 2: Download as PDF to Print as a booklet for A5, or, download as a Word Doc
- Service of the Word Week 2: Download as PDF to Print as a booklet for A5, or, download as a Word Doc
- 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
- Generosity in Creative Prayer
- 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
- 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
- Set up with Contactless and Online Giving – see the Digital Giving Guide
- 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.