Thoughts from the Pastor

June 25, 2017

Stewardship is a way of life. It is not just about tithing our money, but a mindset that recognizes that all we have is a gift from God: who we are, our families, our friends, our jobs, our income, our abilities and skills, our talents, life itself. How we use each of these things, or what we do with them, reflects how we see ourselves as children of God. Jesus calls us to mission, to service, to giving (financially and otherwise). In the interest of stewardship not being something we talk about once or twice a year (for pledges, the budget, or Time &Talent sheets), I wanted to put a summer bug in your ear to encourage you in your giving for the second half of this year, not for our budget’s sake, but for your own faith and relationship with God. If you haven’t, do a mid-year assessment of your stewardship.

Financially, see if you can increase your monetary giving by something as small as a few dollars out of gratitude for the gifts God has given you. At the very least, be aware of your monetary giving and if you aren’t satisfied with how much you give up, come up with small steps to create change. New electronic giving options will be available soon, if that is helpful information to have. In terms of giving your time and talents, see if you can increase the ways you serve our community, which are offerings of your time and talent/gifts/abilities. With our Mission Possible being local this year, this week offers you opportunities for service. Sign up for one if you haven’t before (find details for that in this newsletter), or at the very least, try something new during the rest of the year, even if it’s something small.

God has given us everything we have; let’s find ways to say thank you that help pass our gratitude forward. It’s one way that we are God’s people in this world.

Pastor Kirsten