Stewardship refers to the deliberate consideration of what we do, all of the time, with all that we have. Or, how we use the gifts of time, talent and treasure that have been given to us. In the church, it is sometimes distilled to just treasure — or worse yet, only what we give to the church! It is important to me that we embrace the broader meaning and do the work of stewarding our gifts well.

Together with our stewardship chair Mark Tate and others, we hope to offer more than a pledge drive to illustrate this deeper understanding of stewardship. Our pledge drive is now underway, yet it is but one part of our larger work of stewardship.

This past Sunday, Mark shared a bit about our pledge campaign. Our theme — “Here I am” — appears throughout scripture. I found Mark’s sharing to be a beautiful witness to the significance of stewardship, as well as a heartfelt expression of the beloved community he finds here at Good Sam. If you missed his talk or wish to hear it again, you can see it here!

In the coming weeks you will hear from others, about the meaning they find at Good Sam and how they steward the gifts entrusted to them. I hope to share a bit about how I’ve been working with the vestry, staff and others to steward the gifts entrusted to the church. You will also receive some materials in the mail in the next few weeks. These will include a letter, some numbers about how we are supporting our community and mission at Good Sam, and two “pledge cards” — one for your financial commitment, the other to represent your commitment of time and talent.

We hope that you will join us in prayerful discernment about stewardship.

Blessings,
Paul