A Thanksgiving Project is a community (mainly a parish) annual process of gathering the believers together in prayer fasting and study to enable them to discern God’s will for their personal Christian giving to His work through the Church for the following year.  These personal decisions are brought together on Thanksgiving Sunday when the community, at the end of the Liturgy, each household, privately and silently, records its pledge on a card that is used to administer the Project.  This whole process is repeated annually.

 

It is impossible to read the Scriptures without encountering teaching about the right use of money in terms of a communal and personal responsibility in the covenant with God. However, Christ goes much further than this, identifying the spiritual issues concerning money and these are those of attachment and detachment. The righteous do not cling to the things of this life.  They detach from these and attach themselves to God, and to Him alone.   This attachment to God and trust in Him makes authentic Christian giving possible.  Without it, money becomes secularised, in effect, the worship of Mammon.   

 

The stewardship of noney, therefore, is indeed a profoundly spiritual issue and must be treated as such. How each community deals with this teaching and also practices the ascesis of almsgiving and the support of the Church's work has to be worked out in each case.  However, in the implementation of a Thanksgiving Project, the core principles and the laid down procedures cannot be changed without fatally compromising its effectiveness.  With good teaching, clear explanations, committed leadership and patience, the spirit of generosity in a community will steadily grow, year by year.
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The 9 Core Thanksgiving Project Principles

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Implementation

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The first and vital step is to get everyone on the Parish Council committed to a Thanksgiving Project. Any weakness here will compromise the whole thing. The Council is presented with all the teaching matter appropriate to this stage, at least 2 weeks in advance of its meeting, and then each Council member, personally and privately, is asked to consider (privately and silently) what his or her household's giving might be if the principles of the Thanksgiving Project were embraced by his or her household.   Although this is not a hypothetical exercise, (it must realistic and honest), it is not the real decision either. That will come on Thanksgiving Sunday itself. However, unless the Council is prepared to lead by example, few others will follow. 

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This will be a difficult exercise for some, and it is essential that they are supported through to a satisfactory conclusion. Remember that the whole principle of Thanksgiving Projects articulates the biblical teaching of personal, communal, prayerful, thankful, joyful, and freely chosen and proportionate giving ... fundraising is asking someone else to give! Once the Council has come to a, hopefully, positive conclusion, its decision is communicated to the Community.   This should be done within two months (at the outside) of the subsequent Thanksgiving Decision. If there are ANY dissenting voices on the Council, the Thanksgiving Project must not proceed.  The support must be unanimous without abstention.

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The goal is for all the faithful (and possibly also the catechumens) to make a decision as to what proportion of their income to give to God's work through the Church.  Thereafter, annually, this decision will be reviewed and renewed so that the decision responds to changing circumstances. Tithing is a good place to start, but the Thanksgiving Project stresses the proportionate principle rather than a particular percentage.  Some givers will be giving a percentage or an amount to other good causes as well. Progress toward this goal is achieved by encouraging personal and communal prayer, fasting and study.
 

The decision about what proportion of income should be given is made by the individual or household within his/her Rule of Life and in accordance with Scripture and Tradition. The priest should take care not to collude with questions and ideas that are not compatible with the scriptural and patristic principles as set out in the teaching leaflets(s). Questions such as:- "Couldn't we raise this by fundraising Father?" or "Couldn't you give me an idea how much I should give?" must be met kindly yet firmly with a clear "NO!" The person must be encouraged to reflect about what the Scripture, Tradition and Lives of the Saints have to say about giving and then pray accordingly for God to enlighten them about their own personal decision. This decision should be informed by prayer, fasting and study; it is nobody else’s business! The period of preparation in prayer, fasting and study prior to the decision and subsequent renewal is also made annually. The whole community then moves towards a designated Thanksgiving Sunday (usually shortly before the financial year end) when the decision will be finalised in person in church at the end of the Liturgy. There must be absolutely no compromise on this principle of completing the pledges together and in the church. Spiritually, this is just as much a community decision as it is a personal one. 

The Practicalities

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1. The Parish Priest must be fully committed, personally and in his pastoral role, together with all other assistant clergy and deacons.  The Archbishop will also be encouraging communities to practice truly Christian giving and resist worldly ways of thinking.  The Parish Council must be fully committed, individually and collectively.  The "dummy run" exercise of "What would happen if I/we gave prayerfully and proportionately?" is the first step.
    

2. The Council should draw up a Plan of Action to implement the Project and announce this to the Community.
    

3. The Preparation Stage begins. Designated leaders with charisms, teaching and prayer and who are also fully and personally committed to giving already are charged with leading the Community both into a practical understanding of what the Project entails.  There then follows a period of prayer, fasting and study to enable everyone to make a free and thankful offering decision.
    

4. One Sunday is designated each year when the Community will initiate and then renew its giving on the principles.  This “Thanksgiving Sunday” can be synchronised with the national fiscal year end as this will simplify the administration of charity / non-profits tax refunds where applicable, (Gift Aid).
    

5. On Thanksgiving Sunday, the congregation will be handed a Thanksgiving Card at the end of the Liturgy together with a pen in an envelope. In a short period of silence, the people will enter the amount to be given based on their decision about that proportion, previously made in most cases on the basis of the teaching leaflet.   The pledge card is then placed in the envelope, sealed and offered in prayer by the priest. 
    

6. Those unable to be present on Thanksgiving Sunday can complete the pledge card when they return to church, but this is the only exception to the rule that the completion of the cards must be done together and in church.  Those who for any reason are unable or unwilling to complete a pledge can still take a card, leave it blank and put it in the offertory basket with everyone else. 
    

7. The Project Recorder or Treasurer then receives the Thanksgiving Card Pledges, records the information and issues the planned giving envelopes for those who are not able or willing to give by standing order. The pledges are confidential and data protected within the circle of those who manage the Project according to GDPR law.
    

8. The Council, with the Priest, then prepares a parish budget based on the giving totals which acknowledges a responsibility also to give proportionately out of parish income to needy causes, missions and the wider Church as well as meeting parish needs.

 

As with anything else in the Church, what is good and offered to God in prayer cannot fail. The success of any Thanksgiving Project does not therefore depend on the inspiring quality of its vision, the eloquence of its promoters or the efficiency of its organisation, but rather upon the faithful synergy of God and His People. There is only one choice, faith or idolatry, God or Mammon.

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A Detailed Visual Guide

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Specimen Documents

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