A STEWARDSHIP MESSAGE FROM THE PASTORAL TEAM
“The community of believers was
of one heart and mind and no one claimed that any of his possessions was his
own.” - Acts 4:32
Christian stewardship isn't something you do; it is the framework out of which
we live our lives. It is quite literally a call to renew the face of the earth
and God’s Church. Stewardship calls us to recognize, just as the early
Christians did, that none of our possessions is our own. All that we have – our
health, our education, our skills, our talents, and our livelihood – are gifts
from God. The natural reaction when someone gives you a gift is to want to give
something back. What do you give back to God? As we strive to live as faithful
and generous stewards, it is important that we understand some of the key
aspects of stewardship.
Stewardship is Scripture Based. All of the teachings of
stewardship come directly from the Gospels, the Old Testament and the letters of
the New Testament. Stewardship is not a new fad, or environmental word.
Stewardship is the way God has expected His people to live since the beginning
of time. Stewardship is trusting God. We believe that our generous God will
always provide for us. None of us will ever have all that we want, but we will
always have all that we need.
Stewardship recognizes a Dependence on God.
All
we have is a gift from God and we can take credit for nothing. Stewardship
brings with it a sense of humility as we realize all that God has placed in our
hands. How do we respond? We respond with prayer; each day taking some time to
spend with God and giving thanks. We respond by sharing our talents with others
and encourage all to do the same. The talents we were given are not simply for
our benefit, but for the good of all people --- be generous. We respond by
sharing our treasure. There will always be reasons we can find why we shouldn’t
give; God invites us to trust and to realize why we should. It is precisely in
difficult economic times that we are asked to trust even more believing God’s
generosity will not be outdone. As good stewards we rely on God more and
ourselves less; as good stewards we focus on God’s abundance, not on our
perceived scarcity; as good stewards we respond out of love, not out of fear; as
good stewards we place all he has entrusted to us at his disposal to build up
the Kingdom He intended from the beginning of time.
Stewardship demonstrates Gratitude.
Stewardship
is living a life of gratitude – taking the time every day to recognize the gifts
that God has given, not because we are entitled but because we are loved. We
return a portion of our gifts to God; our time, our talent and our treasure, not
because God or our Church needs them but because we feel an overwhelming need to
show our love and gratitude to God. Stewardship calls us to realize that each of
us is called to give as God has given to us. We no longer base our giving on
what others are giving. We no longer excuse ourselves from giving because we do
not see others giving. Rather we should give in proportion to all that God has
given to us first.
Faith In Our
Future calls upon each of us to focus on stewardship. Stewardship is not just a
program, a fund-raising scheme, or about money and donations. Faith In Our
Future provides an opportunity for parishioners to prayerfully discern and
reflect on how much of their treasure they can commit to their parish and/or
community over the next three years. The
Blessings,
Fr. Howard and Bridget Klawitter, Pastoral Team