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Stewardship | What Does St. James' Parish Mean To You?Stewardship at St. James : Our Response to God's Radical Generosity
We have been made ALIVE in CHRIST
"We're thankful to God for his gift to us: he gave us back our lives again when he raised Christ from the dead. Yes rich in mercy; for it is by his grace he has saved us. It is by faith, it is not our own doing-otherwise we would probably brag about it."
Feasting on Gratitude is a six week reflection inviting readers to reflect and discuss stewardship principles and practices based on the Gospel readings from Matthew. You can read more about the series at The Steward's Well; below are links to the reflections printed in the parish bulletins in October and November.
At St. James we believe that stewardship is without strings - it is a way of life. It is not charity, philanthropy or fundraising.
Stewardship is an ethic, the way we live our lives. The choices that we make flow from an understanding of who we are and to whom we belong. When we think of how God has been generous to us (after all, He did give his only Son), then our response is to be thinking beyond ourselves. Consequently, giving of our time and money is an offering back to God. Giving is a powerful act of gratitude. Giving is worship.
That's all well and good you might say, but in this poor economic climate I can't maintain my life style and still give back to God. Well, gratitude is not always the obvious choice. It needs to be cultivated and nurtured. This is our theme running up to Christmas as we prepare our own personal budgeting of what we can commit in our pledge offering in December.
Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life and puts joy in living - BIG TIME!
Stewardship in Action
The focus on Stewardship this year began at the August vestry meeting. We agreed Jesus is the reason the church exists... why St. James exits. We should be a brotherhood of extremely thankful members! Living out and exhibiting enthusiasm for who He is, what He's done, and our good fortune (forgiveness, salvation and eternal life) because of Him, encourages eventually a change of heart from "What MUST I give"? to "What CAN I give"? i.e. an attitude of gratitude.
This was expressed through the coordination of sermon themes, to six weekly bulletin inserts entitled, "Feasting on Gratitude". On four different Sundays, some parish members shared with the congregation the way they have been touched by God's grace. A short letter was mailed out to members in October pointing out how gratitude unlocks the fullness of life and puts joy in living.
Right after Thanksgiving weekend, a formal letter with a pledge form, encouraging the parish to prayerfully consider a commitment for the 2012 year will be mailed. This pledge form contains a number of different ways a commitment can be made and should be returned by December 11th, to allow an annual budget to be set.
2011-12 Stewardship Campaign Introductory Letter ( , 50kb) |
| 2011-12 Stewardship Cover Letter and Pledge Card (, 18kb) |
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