I’m Shirley Baker, Stewardship Chair – NO please don’t close or delete this!  I know so many of you cringe at the mention of stewardship.  I’m hoping that we can experience the joy of giving together.

This year our theme is Give Him Your Best!!  God only wants the best for us, and He asks for the best from us in return.  We are called to give for two reasons:

•  God is worthy of our gift.

•  It is a tangible way to show that God is first in our lives.

Too often we pay our bills and support our families, then see what we have left to give to God. It’s easy to give leftovers. God, however, asks for our first and finest, not the runt of the litter nor the calf who placed second in the livestock competition. We need to give a gift that honors God; one that requires sacrifice, because that is the gift that reflects our hearts. Share of our essence, not just excess.

During this stewardship season, I’m hoping to create inspiration not guilt. Let’s not focus on the gift, but the heart behind the gift. I’m hoping that when you feel inspired you will share your story. When I was young I always heard people saying that when you tithe, when you give from your heart, God returns the favor two-fold. When my husband and I did start tithing, because we gave from our hearts, we received blessings. This is how we can experience the joy of giving together. We share our stories and help others create stories of their own.

I’m looking forward to working with you to create a foundation for next year’s good works.

Warmest regards,

For those of you ready to pledge, here is the link to the pledge card.

We would also like to collect information from our church family, so would greatly appreciate you filling out a questionnaire from the Vestry at this link.