New York - The Department of Stewardship and Pastoral Resources of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America has prepared a complete 2006 Christian Stewardship Ministry Program for use in parishes nationwide.

The theme, "Bearing Fruit: Witness & Service," has been coordinated with the Archdiocesan Departments of Outreach & Evangelism and Youth and Young Adult Ministries to better support cohesively the ministries carried out at the parish level.

One packet of the Stewardship material will be mailed to each parish in September, addressed to the Priest and Parish Council. The Stewardship packet will be sent by priority mail to guarantee prompt delivery and to allow sufficient time for the parish to prepare its 2006 campaign.

The Stewardship material is presented in a specially designed folder for better storage and accessibility. The cover letter outlines the material in the program for the user. An updated and redesigned &qout;Stewardship Ministry Guidelines&qout; booklet is enclosed, containing twenty-eight pages of directions, documents and letters to be addressed to Stewards. Two Stewardship posters bearing the 2006 theme are included for posting in two areas of the parish facility.

A CD-ROM supplements and compliments the &qout;Stewardship Ministry Guidelines&qout; for prompt and trouble-free parish personalization.

The CD-ROM contains: graphics, fonts, articles and letters on adopting Stewardship, a Tri-fold Appeal (simply requiring the insertion of minimal parish information before being printed), Stewardship cards and family information forms, letters for promotion and follow-up of Stewards, about fifty pages of articles and illustrations for monthly and/or weekly parish publications, a Stewardship Sunday Program, a timeline, a prayer service, and a PowerPoint Program on the theme with a narration to be shown in the parish. Two other PowerPoint programs for encouraging parishes to implement Stewardship are included.

Enclosed in the folder are two sample Stewardship Tri-fold Appeals in color and black and white that can be personalized and readily reproduced at the parish or printer.

The purpose of these resources is to assist the parishes of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese to promote successful Stewardship Ministry Programs that will grow meaningful ministries in the parishes for the glory of God and the edification of the Orthodox Faith in America.