The idea was simple. Seven parishioners were asked to form a Stewardship Commission to reflect about stewardship. One of their tasks was to thoughtfully define the word stewardship for themselves. Here is what they wrote.
“Stewardship to me is carpe diem– seizing the day. No one
knows what happens after we die. There is so much abundance in our lives
if we open our hearts and minds to see it. When God created the world
he gave humans an immense power to continuously re-create the world –
each of us individually, day by day, in our own way. I believe that what
I do – or do not do – has an impact in the world, because
we are all connected – all people, all animals, and the physical
environment. I feel a responsibility to play my little role in the most
positive and generous way possible. That’s stewardship.”
Roy has been worshipping at St John’s since 2004. He serves on the Capital Campaign, Finance Committee, Peace and Justice Group and ushers.
“None of us were responsible for this beautiful place. It was here
waiting for us due to generations of faithful stewards past. But make
no mistake, the Spirit that is Saint John’s nearly faded to oblivion
a few years back. We, this generation, are the fulcrum that will ensure
that the Spirit of Saint John’s is passed to the next generation
and beyond. We owe it to our children, we owe it to all faithful servants
past and we owe it to ourselves. Most of all, we owe it to God. Rejoice
and be glad in what Almighty God has given us!”
Bryan has been worshipping at St. John’s since 2002. He serves on the Finance Committee, serves at the altar, ushers, reads and leads the prayers of the people.
"I find the concept of stewardship of God’s assets to be a
very simplistic one. Lots of angst is internalized when people think about
their stewardship role in the giving of time, talent, and treasure.
Bottom line is: you would have nothing if it weren’t for God.
There would be no money, no talents with which to create money, and without
talents, what good would your time be? Then you are just taking up space.
I believe people are happiest when they are giving back to the Creator. Therefore, it is very important to belong to an organization which you feel utilizes your time, talent and treasure to its fullest and gets the most out of your efforts. Its important to belong where you see results in other people’s lives."
Bill has been worshipping at St. John’s since 2004. He serves on the vestry as Rector’s Warden, Capital Campaign, Welcoming and Hospitality, Branding group and ushers.
“Stewardship is hearing God’s call through scripture to fulfill
our Christian responsibilities. We are called upon to bring our talents
and time to our church and our community, not because we always “feel”
like community, not because we always “feel” like doing so,
but because it is the right thing to do.”
Sharon has been worshipping at St. John’s since 2003. She serves on the Altar Guild, Property Committee, Sunday school, Peace and Justice and Senior Lunch.
“For me, stewardship is an ongoing challenging process of trusting
in God’s abundance and learning to be generous. It is about learning
to let go and not grasp and not worry about using myself up or burning
myself out. Although it seems cliché, it’s about trying to
believe that the more I give and that there really, truly is enough of
everything to go around, and then some.”
Chris has been worshipping at St John’s since 2003. She chairs
the Pastoral Care group and the Parish Directory group, ushers and leads
the prayers of the people.
“I now believe that stewardship is accepting responsibility for
one’s place of worship; its missions, its upkeep, its existence
for our use. Stewardship is giving of oneself to better the church, financially
and with one’s time and talent. I believe that stewardship is also
a constant thing, a way of thinking about one’s church and how it
can benefit from one’s membership every day or at the very least,
every week.”
Kimberly has been worshipping at St. John’s since 2004. She was part of the Parish Directory planning group.
“I believe that Stewardship means “taking responsibility of
_______.” Ironically, in what one may think of as the limited context
of St. John’s, I believe the blank should be filled with the word
“everything.” Each of us taking responsibility for the church
and its members should be a subset of each of us defining and taking our
larger responsibility to make things better for all people, for the planet.
Gandhi once said, “Almost everything you do will seem insignificant,
but it is important that you do it.” He may not have been thinking
of the word, but I think he was thinking about Stewardship. "
Gray has been worshipping at St. John’s since 2005. He is exploring Confirmation.
The following prayer was written by Roy Ortman:
Loving God,
We thank you for the rich
Abundance in our lives.
Open our eyes to see that in being
richly blessed, we can in turn bless
others.
Open our hearts to feel the
Powerful generosity of your Spirit
and overcome fear and judgment.
Open our minds to turn away from
greed, selfishness and wasteful
consumption.
Open our ears to hear the needs of
this Church as a community of
compassion.
Breathe your Spirit into us, and
touch us with the life of Christ so
that we can offer the world
everlasting loving-kindness,
Amen.