Church of the Resurrection

Stewardship

          Fostering Stewardship as a Way of Life

"As soon as the word spread, the people of Israel gave in abundance the first fruits of grain, wine, oil, honey, and of all the produce of the field; and they brought in abundantly the tithe of everything." (2 Chronicles 31:5)

What is Sacrificial Giving?
Sacrificial Giving is     

 

   Planned:   The decision to give is just that ~ a decision. It requires thought and time, so that it is integrated with other financial decisions as part of a carful, intentional response to God's generosity.

  Proportionate:   Part of our planning ensures that we give the "first fruits", those gifts given first and not only after other obligations have been satisfied. Our giving should be proportionate or commensurate to what God has given us. Most people use the biblical concept of the tithe, a tenth, as a guide. In any case, our gift should reflect our level of gratefulness to God.

  Sacrificial:   Our proportionate gift becomes sacrificial when it comes from our substance rather than our abundance. When we give out of our substance, we are changed in the process. We have given away something we thought we needed for ourselves, thus changing our lifestyle. We have acted on our belief that our security lies not in our material resources but in God.

  Time and Talent:  When we consider our participation in Sacrificial Giving, we need to include our time and talent as well as our money. Just as in giving money, giving time and talent expresses our gratitude to the God who has given us these gifts.
   

Our gifts of money do not substitute for gifts of time and talent. Neither do time and talent substitute for giving of financial resources, all are gifts from God. As you make your decision about the portion of income you will give this year to your parish, the poor and other charities, consider as well what you will give of your time and talent.

Consider the guideline of committing five hours per week to parish or other church ministries and activities, community work or other kinds of social service. We can give more or less than this guide depending on our situation.

 Sacrificial giving is a necessary expression of our faith, of what we say we believe. We channel a portion of our giving through our parish because it is the body which most clearly bears witness to the meaning and values we find at the center of our lives.

Reflection continued from page 1:

Jesus tells of a gardener who pleads to save a fig tree so he can cultivate it and hope to make it productive. In chapters one and two of Genesis, God reveals that He created man and woman and gave them dominion over His Garden – all of creation.

 

Bishop Robert Morneau poignantly describes how God made us stewards of many gardens: the gardens of our faith, our body, our family, our mind, our artistic ability, our many abilities and, most importantly, our ability to reason and our free will.

 

He points out that all of the gardens belong to God and poses these questions:

  • Are we being good stewards?
  • How are we caring for our gardens?
  • Have we cultivated our gardens or let them go fallow?
  • Are our gardens as productive as God intended?

 If not, it is not too late. The first step is to identify and accept responsibility for the gardens that God has entrusted to our care. Do not be afraid. We have Jesus as our helper in our garden