Stewardship
Author: Nicole Speer
For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. ~Matthew 6:21
My daughter is the most generous person I know. She rarely wants anything for herself and instead uses her birthdays and holidays as occasions to give gifts to friends and family members, or to strangers in need. Her treasure follows her heart, which is so filled with love that grace is second nature.
As we enter stewardship season, my daughter’s generosity and grace are on my mind. Coming on the heels of Advent and coinciding with the start of a new year, stewardship is the perfect time to reflect on what we accomplished in the past year and what we will do in the year ahead.
I am awed by the way our congregation rose to the challenges of 2020. What a gift God gave us, to pair fearless, creative staff with patient, generous members during such a liminal year! We stayed engaged and we grew in our relationships with God and with each other despite being physically apart for more than 9 months. Hallelujah! Thank you for your 2020 pledges, that gave us the gifts of faith, hope, and love during a year of massive upheaval.
Our church’s annual budget cannot exceed the total of our pledges, so our 2021 pledges are essential to keep our work going and to enable our congregation to respond to seen and unforeseen challenges in this new year. Please join me in pledging and, if you are able, increasing your pledge this year. We cannot know what this year will bring, but we can choose where our hearts will be.
Loving God, what treasure could surpass the gift of your grace? As we offer our treasures to advance your work, may our hearts open up to you. Amen.
