Last month we began a new “Spotlight on Stewardship” series as part of our regular communications. The series offers best practices for a holistic and sustainable stewardship ministry, as well as shares “stewardship success stories” from Moravian churches, emerging ministries, agencies, and more in North America. What story does your budget tell? Once upon a…
By Lydian Bernhardt It seems unlikely for a minister to be anything less than outgoing, but Adam Goodrich, pastor of Friedland Moravian Church, was a shy kid. “I was pretty quiet until high school,” he says. “I kept to myself and didn’t really talk a lot.” But he liked to participate in the youth group…
Ordinary People, Extraordinary Gifts By Lydian Bernhardt The McElveens are builders. Builders of houses, like the dilapidated cabin The Rev. Bill McElveen and his wife Carol bought in 1959. They spent the next 52 years working hard to turn it into a showplace as a hobby. Builders of congregations, like Messiah Moravian Church in Winston-Salem…
As we enter the last quarter of 2018, it’s a good time to think about how you will end the year financially. It’s a timely endeavor for individual investors, congregations, and ministries alike. Moravian Donor Advised Funds (DAFs) through the Moravian Ministries Foundation in America (MMFA) can be helpful in several ways: Any individual, group…
In her article How Hurricanes Damage the Economy, Kimberly Amadeo outlines specifically how hurricanes negatively affect the economy. They can increase unemployment, lower U.S. production, raise prices, and depress the stock market. And, since one-third of the U.S. gross domestic product comes from states along the Gulf and Atlantic coasts, America is very vulnerable to…