Stewardship covers our giving of time, talents, and money. To focus on one to the exclusion of the others is to take too narrow a view of our responsibilities. Our current stewardship focus is on the Three Faces of Stewardship: Ordinary Stewardship, Extra-ordinary Stewardship, and Legacy Giving.
THE THREE FACES OF STEWARDSHIP
Ordinary Stewardship involves the oversight of resources that God has entrusted to us. We return to God a portion of what has been given to us, we each have time, talents, and treasure, and we are all called to give a portion of each to the church. This is not optional: stewardship is a part of who we are and what we do. The details may be different for each person, but each is called to exercise stewardship. It should be ongoing and proportional, and it is a good habit to get into.
Extraordinary Stewardship comes into play when there are special occasions in the life of our community that call us to give above and beyond our ordinary habit. They may be needs within community, or needs beyond our community. In these circumstances, our hearts impel us to give, and we rise to the challenges set before us
Legacy Giving takes place at the end of our earthly lives: we can’t take anything with us to the next. We need to consider how to disperse the assets with which we have been entrusted. Thinking ahead to leave gifts to those you cherish is planned giving. There is help available to assist people to choose amongst the options both to maximize the gift and to minimize the tax implications (so we are often able to give more than we think!). Legacies are letters of love to those who are left behind: where our treasure is, so our hearts.
Together, the three help us to administer the assets with which we are blessed. Each day we are faced with requests for help. We tend to give where our passions lie. If we can see our offering makes a difference for good, we are more willing to commit. If we see God’s hands at work in the church, we are motivated to support the ministries. Our parish budget illustrates what is important in the life of this community. Our commitment is necessary for God’s work to go forward. Accordingly, we are all asked to pledge our financial commitment for the coming year, trusting in God that there will be abundance and not scarcity.