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Improve Church Attendance . . .
and so your budget too!
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Greetings!
This electronic message is a monthly communication to pastors from your United Methodist Foundation of Louisiana. We hope you will find the articles useful and informative. Feel free to print or forward electronically the information in these messages to members of your congregation.
Each issue will give you pertinent articles on annual giving, capital campaigns and/or planned giving. |
10 Ways to Improve Church Attendance For the most part, all it takes to increase church attendance is a little intentional shepherding of those who might have strayed . . .
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Upbeat Focus
Louisiana ranks as happiest state
People in sunny, outdoorsy states - Louisiana, Hawaii, Florida - say they're the happiest Americans, and researchers think they know why. A new study comparing self-described pleasant feelings with objective measures of good living found these folks generally have reason to feel fine. Ranking No. 1 in happiness was Louisiana, home of Dixieland music and Cajun/Creole cooking.
The happiness ratings were based on a survey of 1.3 million people across the country by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. It used data collected over four years that included a question asking people how satisfied they are with their lives.
Louisiana unemployment rate drops
Louisiana's unemployment rate dropped to 6.7% in November, as several sectors in the state added workers. That's up from the revised unemployment rate of 7.4% in October and well below the national average of 10%, says the Louisiana Workforce Commission. LWC says the trade, transportation and utilities industry sector added 1,700 jobs last month, while professional and business services, and the leisure and hospitality sectors also saw notable gains. Since August, the unemployment rate in Louisiana has fallen by more than percentage point from 7.8%
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Age Differences in Planned Giving: How Americans Aged 30+ View Charitable Giving
The 2009 Stelter Donor Insight Report is based on a national survey of Americans aged 30+ concerning their views on charitable giving to nonprofits. The objectives for this project were to understand how the economy may have altered giving, determine awareness of the various types of planned gifts and gain an understanding of individuals' feelings about sharing their inheritance with charity. Read the report. |
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January Stewardship Sermon
"Get Your Own Dirt" by Rev. Henry Stone
God reminds us that who we are and what we have did not originate with us. We like to think that the things we have originate with us--we come from our parents, we work hard in school or at our jobs. It's just regular human thinking. But it's still wrong thinking. Read the sermon. |
PastorBlast!
