Stewardship - Putting the Pieces Together

It is Stewardship time again. This year’s theme (“Putting the Pieces Together”) is a reminder that each of us has a part to play in the life of our congregation. It is only when all of the pieces come together that the picture begins to come clear. Over the years stewardship has sometimes received a bad rap in church. “All they ever talk about is money!” The truth, of course, is far more complex and nuanced than that. Stewardship is about everything we do with everything we have. It is about being stewards of the whole of lives. That includes what we give away – to the church, to other organizations, to our friends and family, to the person on the corner holding a sign, to whomever and whatever we choose to give away some of our resources. It also includes what we keep and use for ourselves – the money we spend at the grocery store, the car(s) we buy, the trips we take, the clothes we wear, the stuff we collect, all of it. The important question which stewardship asks us to carefully and prayerfully consider is this – are my values reflected in the ways I live my life? Are they reflected in the causes and organizations I choose to support? Are they reflected in the businesses I choose to support with my spending? Are they reflected in things I choose to purchase? What does it mean to be faithful stewards of this amazing gift we have been given, the gift of our lives? Of course we talk about money in church. We talk about it because in our culture money represents so much of our lives – our time, our gifts, our energy, our values. In church we talk about what it means to live faithfully and that conversation becomes meaningless unless it includes all of who we are (including our money). That having been said, it is important to note that it is a conversation. It is not a demand. You are the only one who can decide how you will use the resources which you have. I simply invite you to be prayerful about that decision – listening for the ways in which God’s Spirit might be calling you to move beyond your present comfort zone. Together we are the Church. Together may we continue to grow in faith.

- Pastor Roger

(keeping my feet firmly planted in the flow)