Story Corrected January 28, 2008

National Episcopal Stewardship Leader to Address 2008 Bishop's Circle Banquets

Gifts to Bishop's Circle in 2007 near $50,000 mark

Banquets planned in Minneapolis, Duluth and Faribault - October 1-3, 2008

by Joe Bjordal

Terry Parsons, Missioner for Stewardship for the Episcopal Church, will be the featured presenter at the 2008 Bishop's Circle Banquets. The announcement was made today by Bishop James Jelinek. The Banquets will be held during the first thee days of October in Duluth, Minneapolis, and Faribault. (It was previously announced that the banquets would take place in November.)

"I'm delighted that Terry Parsons has accepted our invitation to be the 2008 speaker," said Bishop Jelinek. "She is much in demand as a speaker and trainer throughout our church and I am certain she will raise our awareness and passion for effective stewardship."

Parsons has been a magazine editor, marketing consultant to small businesses, director of development for a nonprofit human service agency and developed a training program for women executives before beginning her work in stewardship for the Episcopal Church.

The Right Rev. Greg Rickel, the new Bishop of Olympia, was the speaker at the inaugural Bishop's Circle Banquet in October, 2005. He says having Terry Parsons speak will be a real treat for Minnesota Episcopalians.

"Terry Parsons is the real deal! She is the Mark Twain of stewardship education. She may well have had more impact, on more Episcopalians in our generation, than any other speaker. I think she once told me, you can’t sell soap, if you not willing to take a bath! She will dive right in!"

Out of Abundance, Not Scarcity

According to a biographical statement on the Episcopal Church website, Parsons "believes it is more important to study the Bible than budgets, to pray than to beg; the greatest challenge facing congregations today is our preference for scarcity, and reluctance to claim the abundance which God offers."

"Terry is a champion for one of the very goals for which we established The Bishop's Circle: to demonstrate that we can approach matters of stewardship and support for mission and ministry out of a sense of abundance, not scarcity," said Bishop Jelinek.

"That is what many people in the Dicoese of Minnesota demonstrate week in and week out and exactly what the members of the Bishop's Circle have done the past three years," he said.

It was also announced today that gifts to the Bishop's Circle in 2007, given in conjunction with three banquets and through the Bishop's Year-End Appeal, total $49,155, bringing the three-year total to in excess of $140,000.

The funds have been used to support programs in faith formation, campus ministry and ethnic ministry during the past two years. Recipients of grants in 2007 included The University Episcopal Center, Minneapolis; All Saints Church, Northfield; Holy Apostles Church, St. Paul; La Misión El Santo Niño Jesús, St. Paul; St. Andrew’s by-the-Lake, Duluth; St. Paul’s Church, Duluth; and Trinity Church, Hermantown.

Guests at the 2007 banquets heard first-hand accounts about how grant funds have impacted the lives of many through reports from several of the grant recipients.

Recipients of grants for 2008 will be announced shortly.