Taking Inventory

  Posted on July 25, 2023  by admin  No comments

“Stewardship is not just the pledge campaign – it is how we approach our relationship with each other and all of God’s gifts to us all year round. Whatever the resources we have been given is what we must work with to accomplish the mission of the church – these include our time, our talent, and our treasure, and they work together to grow the Reign of God. “ (The Episcopal Network for Stewardship)
The Episcopal Network for Stewardship defines Stewardship in this way and two recent gatherings at St. Paul’s, as well as Father Daniel’s sermon this past Sunday, reminded me of the importance of understanding that concept; that Stewardship is about both our relationship with each other and all of God’s gifts to us. As we think on those things one of the questions to ask ourselves is “what is God’s gift to each of us?” What has God gifted to each of us that we can use in the service of others and to further the Mission of our Church? Are you a singer? Have you been blessed with the gift of leadership, or service, compassion, or empathy? Are you skilled with your hands either as a crafts person, art designer, knitter, architect or as a carpenter, plumber or painter, or is gastronomy and hospitality your thing? Do your possess computer skills, or have a green thumb? The list of God given talents is endless, as we discovered when of our Vestry recently took inventory of their God given gifts and when we spread that out to the congregation at large, it is even more abundant.
So, the question becomes how do we put those talents and skills God has blessed us with to use at St. Paul’s? Is there more that we could be doing? Is there a Ministry you could be contributing to like Building and Grounds, which urgently needs people to serve? Can you spare a little time to serve on the altar or get involved with Person to Person or our Pastoral Care Ministry, which we are in the process of revamping? What about hospitality, can you help Rosemary Dellinger and her team with Coffee Hour and catering for our special events? Or do you feel passionately about justice and would like to be a part of our Racial Healing, Justice and Reconciliation group? Whatever the answer is to these questions think of Father Daniel’s call to us in his sermon on Sunday, that we need to pay attention to where “the good soil is” within each of us and learn “how to let ourselves be fertile soil.” “God is doing an abundant thing in our time!” he reminds us, and we need to open our hearts to hear what he is calling us to do especially as we enter our season of Stewardship. So, what are your gifts and how will you use them this year to ensure our Stewardship harvest is “More Than Enough”?