Browsing by Rob Blezard
Summertime Spirituality
It’s Personal blog Summer is the time when many people take a break from the routine — from work, from school, and, yes, even church. The warmer temperatures and longer days of summer make it more enjoyable to spend time outdoors, and the slower pace gives us time to relax and engage in leisure activities. […]
Game Over for Climate Change
Canada’s tar sands, deposits of sand saturated with bitumen, contain twice the amount of carbon dioxide emitted by global oil use in our entire history. If it is exploited, as some are eager to do, the environmental damage will be apocalyptic. (Photo by Roberto Rizzato, used under Creative Commons license.)
Trashy Stewardship
How much trash do you take out every week? One bag? Two bags? More? Your garbage serves as a pretty good indicator of your stewardship. Trash shows both how much you consume and how much you recycle — or fail to recycle! Can you do better? Sure! Here are some tips. (Photo © Olga Lyubkin – Fotolia.com)
IRS Rules on Designated Gifts for Individuals
The most difficult kind of benevolence fund contribution to evaluate (but by far the most common) is a contribution that designates a specific recipient. Churches need to exercise caution, lest they fall afoul of IRS guidelines for tax-exempt contributions. (Illustration (c) 2009 BORN, via bigstock.com)
Teaching Generosity in the Era of Austerity
Who is teaching the next generation how to prioritize sharing as one of their primary money habits? Who is calling the question on ‘how much is enough?’ The dearth of opportunities to dig into these critically important questions is no less than astounding. Enter faith communities. This is an ideal time for congregations to convene multi-generational learning experiences about money. (Photo © June Reed – Fotolia.com)
The Weight of the Nation
HBO is taking a hard look at the growing epidemic of obesity in a four-part documentary. It shows how two thirds of Americans are overweight, and half of them are obese — bringing with it catastrophic costs. We must do a better job being stewards of health. The good news is HBO is making this available to everybody to watch by online streaming! (Photo © saje – Fotolia.com)
We’re trashing ourselves!
“Americans generate more trash than anyone else on the planet: more than 7 pounds per person each day. And most landfill trash is made up of containers and packaging — almost all of which should be recycled.” Read more and listen to the Fresh Air interview with Edward Hume, author of Garbology.
Carpe Tithem: How tithing can invigorate your faith
The vast majority of people in the world cannot even imagine the standard of living that most Americans take for granted. The truth is that we are called to worship God with our wallet as well as our body, mind, spirit and heart. Following are five ways to re-imagine the tithe so that we can see it as an essential expression of the life of faith. (Great article in the Journal of Lutheran Ethics.) Photo © Pei Lin – Fotolia.com
Handling Benevolence Gifts According to IRS Guidelines
Tragedy has struck a family close to your congregation, and of course your church wants to help. But asking for donations just for them might run your congregation afoul of the IRS, which would rule those donations NOT tax-deductible by the donor, and reportable as income by the beneficiary, according to a financial expert. (Photo © Ashumskiy – Fotolia.com)
Do Mormons love Jesus more?
A clever bumper sticker speaks wisely: “Tithe if you love Jesus. Anyone can honk.†If that nugget of wisdom holds true, we have to ask, “Do Mormons love Jesus more than other Christians?†An impressive 79 percent of Mormons tithe their income – giving 10 percent to their church, according to a recent article in […]
