‘An invitation to be part of something’
by Robyn Davis Sekula, Presbyterian Foundation | Special to Presbyterian News Service
First United Presbyterian Church in Tarentum, Pa., has a five-year history participating in Giving Tuesday. (Contributed photo)
LOUISVILLE — Giving Tuesday is a popular day to give to support causes you love. But can churches use it, too?
Certainly — and the Presbyterian Mission Agency and Presbyterian Foundation are partnering to bring you a free webinar to show you how.
It is set for 1 p.m. EDT on Thursday, Oct. 10. You can sign up here.
The Rev. Philip Beck
Joined by Rev. Philip Beck, pastor of First United Presbyterian Church in Tarentum, Pa., church leaders can sign up for a webinar to learn how to use the power of Giving Tuesday. Beck’s church, a mid-sized congregation in rural Pennsylvania, has participated for five years, bringing in as much as $15,000 in one day to help fund mission and ministries of the church. “It’s an invitation to be part of something,” Beck says. “We offer a match gift, too, from our congregation, and people really respond to that.”
Beck will share tips and thoughts on Giving Tuesday participation as part of the webinar.
About Giving Tuesday
Giving Tuesday is a day designed for online giving. It follows Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving, when hordes of shoppers head to retail centers to snap up holiday deals. Next comes the Monday after Thanksgiving, branded as “Cyber Monday,” when many click their way through bargains.
This year, Giving Tuesday falls on December 3.
In addition to strategy and tips for churches to participate, Lauren Rogers of Special Offerings will share plans for supporting mission and ministry of the Presbyterian Mission Agency through Giving Tuesday.
The theology of Giving Tuesday
Giving Tuesday has become a way to redirect energy away from acquiring stuff to improving communities and lives through generosity.
While Giving Tuesday is a secular day focused on non-profits, churches can benefit from participation, says Rev. Ellie Johns-Kelley, Ministry Relations Officer for the Northeast for the Presbyterian Foundation. “It’s a wonderful way as we are heading into Advent to take the focus away from materialism to investing in the ministries we love,” Johns-Kelly says. “It is an opportunity to participate in generosity and answer the call of God to meet the needs all around us, every day, including those served by our churches.”
Like Black Friday and Cyber Monday, Giving Tuesday comes just as we head into Advent, Johns-Kelly says. “It shifts us away from materialism to what Christmas is about — hope entering the world.”
Robyn Davis Sekula is Vice President of Communications and Marketing at the Presbyterian Foundation. You can reach her at robyn.sekula@presbyterianfoundation.org or (502) 569-5101.
You may freely reuse and distribute this article in its entirety for non-commercial purposes in any medium. Please include author attribution, photography credits, and a link to the original article. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDeratives 4.0 International License.