What is Steward
A steward is defined as a person who manages the affairs of a household or an estate owner. In the Christian sense, a steward is the manager of affairs of God on earth. Stewards as disciples of Jesus Christ see themselves as caretakers of ALL God’s gifts. Gratitude for these gifts is expressed in prayer, worship, offering and action by eagerly sharing our gifts out of love for God and one another. Good stewards give the first portion of their gifts of time, talent and treasure to the work of our Lord, in gratitude for his many blessings.
Everything we have is given to us by God. A Christian steward serves God out of love and gratitude for these gifts, knowing that it is not how MUCH we have, but what we DO with what we have that is important.
“One who receives God’s gifts gratefully, cherishes and tends them in a esponsible and accountable manner, shares them in justice and love with others, and returns them with increase to the Lord.”
---Stewardship: A Disciple’s Response, A Pastoral Letter on Stewardship
What is Stewardship
Stewardship is a way of life; a life of accountability and responsibility acknowledging God as Creator and Giver of all. Stewardship involves responsible management of our God-given resources of time, talent, and treasure.
Stewardship is based on the spiritual principles of the Old Testament and the teachings of Jesus. It is not just a program, or a method of fundraising, but rather a way of life. A life lived in gratitude to God for all His blessings by returning to Him a portion of the time, talent, and treasure we have each received.
Stewardship is a path to holiness. It makes us more like Christ who came not to BE served, but TO serve. It is a grateful awareness that all we have, and all we are, comes freely from God. When we offer our lives back to God in love, He blesses that generosity a hundredfold.
Stewardship is a life of total immersion in acknowledging God as Creator and Owner of all that is. As a stewardship community we share our time, talent, and treasure for building up the church and making our worlda better place.
“Following Jesus is the work of a life-time…
it is a total way of life and requires continuing conversion.”
---Stewardship: A Disciples Response
The Stewardship of Time & Talent
is about 'getting involved'...
through worship, prayer, volunteer service opportunities, and various parish ministries. As St. Peter said, “As each one has received a gift, use it to serve one another as good stewards of God’s varied grace.” (1Pt 4:10).
Stewards place their time and talents at the service of those in need. Share the blessings of your God-given talents with others, and you can literally end up changing lives. Explore yourself, and discover the unique gifts God has given you. Don’t focus on what you can’t do; rather, follow Jesus’ example, and reach out to others in any way you can to care for the sick and the elderly, feed the hungry, house the homeless and more. When we share our talents with others we are giving them something far more precious than our time. We are giving them something of ourselves; we are sharing ourselves for the good of others.
We hope that you will find a place to share your talents with the parish community. Please check out our volunteer opportunities and parish ministries.
"There are different kinds of spiritual gifts, but the same Spirit gives them.
There are different ways of serving, but the same Lord is served. There are different abilities to perform service, but the same God gives ability to all for their particular service. The Spirit’s presence is shown in some way in each
person for the good of all." -1 Corinthians 12:4-7
The Stewardship of Treasure
is about 'giving back'...
As stated above, stewardship is about taking care of and sharing all that we have and all that we are. Money and our possessions--our treasure--are gifts from God that we are asked to care for and generously share for our own benefit and the good of others. We need to remember that no matter how important possessions may seem, we bring nothing into this world, and we can take nothing from it. Most important to remember is that everything we have is a gift from God, and the way to share His love is to share freely of ourselves with others. In that light, you should be a cheerful giver, knowing your actions are doing what is good and right.
One of the most significant and traditional ways we experience this is during the Offertory Rite at the Sunday Eucharist. A frequently asked question is “How much do I have to give?” As disciples of Jesus, each of us has a responsibility to support the Church and to contribute generously to the building up of the Body of Christ. The bishops’ pastoral, Stewardship: A Disciple’s Response, emphasizes giving according to one’s means. This is a far more challenging standard. It challenges us to be good stewards not only in how much we give, but in what we do with all our resources. In the days of Our Lord, the Jewish faithful were asked to “tithe,” to give one tenth of their produce in thanksgiving to God (Deuteronomy 14:22). The earliest Christian communities retained this spirit of offering during the Sunday Eucharist, taking up collections for the poor, widows, and other special needs, and we continue to do so to this day.
“No one shall appear before the Lord empty-handed,
but each of you with as much as he can give, in proportion to the blessings which the Lord, God has bestowed on you."
-Deuteronomy 14: 22, 16: 10, 16-17
Both of our parish families offer online giving.