2026 marks the sixth annual Generosity Week across the Diocese of Newcastle. Over these eight days, we pause to give thanks to God for His abundant gifts and reflect on how we can respond by living more intentionally generous lives.
Generosity is at the heart of our faith and parish ministry. Through faithful financial giving, shared ministry costs are supported, and through the generous service of volunteers, lay leaders and clergy—who give their time, talents and care—lives are transformed and lasting, positive differences are made in the communities we serve.
There is much to celebrate this Generosity Week! We hope you will be encouraged to take part and inspired by discovering something of our collective impact over the last year, including personal stories that that bear witness to our faith lived out in action.
As always, the Generous Giving Team invite you to take part in Generosity Week in whatever way best fits your church context and calendar. The resources below are designed to inspire new areas of focus and offer ready-to-use materials that make it easy to get involved.
Pre-Generosity Week Clinic Day
To help with Generosity Week preparations, the Generous Giving Team, along with our Diocesan Fundraising Officer, held a drop in clinic day at St John's Church, Kingston Park on Thursday 16th July. Workshops were held covering the following topics;
• Introduction to Cornerstone
• Giving Review
• Legacy Giving
• Communicating Impact and the Social Value Calculator
• A Vision for Fundraising
• Engaging Successfully with Funders
If you were unable to attend but are interested to know more about any of these topics, please get in touch and we would be delighted to arrange a time go through sessions on an individual basis.
Re-Imagining the Offertory
In July 2026 we conducted a survey to explore how churches are adapting offertory practice as regular giving increasingly moves to Parish Giving Scheme (PGS), standing orders and other digital methods. As digital giving is now well established, the survey sought to understand how generosity continues to be expressed within worship and what guidance, if any, churches would value in this area.
Whilst the survey revealed a number of key findings, one message stood out clearly: there remains strong support for a visible offertory. In response, we are pleased to offer these new resources.
For a copy of the full report and emerging findings, please contact Leanne
A free e-Book, 'The Offering Moment' by Jim Sheppard, is also available to download. This book gives access to practical tools, biblical insight, and fresh inspiration to help make the most of the offering moment during a service.
Worship Material
Our Eucharist Service and Service of the Word to celebrate Generosity can be used at any time. Our Sermon Starter pack follows the lectionary for the first Sunday of Generosity Week (27th September) and also includes bonus sermon starters to use alongside the 'any time' worship material provided.
Resources from the National Giving Team
'Living Generously’ is a series of films for small groups and individual study. In this eight session course, Director of Giving, Jonathan de Bernhardt Wood, explores the simple, powerful moment in which Mary, the friend and follower of Jesus, displays the kind of astonishing generosity God Himself pours out on us.
Whilst 'Living Generously' can be used at any time of year, its eight-session format makes it especially well suited as a daily resource during Generosity Week.
Take me to 'Living Generously'