The ACoC is running out of money, so it is giving the Health and Wealth gospel a shot; being effete liberal elitists, their stewardship mavens call it a theology of abundance, though:
“This is stewardship, not fundraising” is something I have heard often during the past 15 years as a stewardship teacher. However, as a once-upon-a-time development director for a most-worthy-cause non-profit organization, I know that large gifts always have a spiritual component….
That being said, the Symposium on the Spirituality of Philanthropy presented by the Office of Mission Funding of the Episcopal Church in late September was a first, and frankly long overdue. The 64 participants, representing 31 dioceses and eight provinces of the Episcopal Church, as well as the Anglican Church of Canada, filled the Episcopal Church Center’s chapel to hear four presentations that combined the theology of abundance with highly practical approaches to making the “ask” for a major gift.