Stewardship
Saint Paul's Episcopal Church of Lewiston
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| Grow in the Spirit, Act in Love. |
| Our Stewardship Prayer Loving God, we thank you for the rich abundance in our lives. Open our eyes to see that, in being so blessed, we can in turn abundantly bless others. Open our hearts to feel the powerful generosity of your Spirit and let go of our fear and judgment. Open our ears to hear the needs of this church and community. Open our minds that, whenever called, we offer the world our measureless love, our generous time, our unique talents and treasure. Quicken our hands to your service, breathe your Spirit into us and touch us with the life of Christ. Amen |
| What is Stewardship? Time Talents Treasure Here at St. Paul’s we believe that Stewardship is a three-fold ministry. Not just our pledge, our financial giving, but equally important giving of our time and our talents. What we have belongs, not to us, but to God our time our talents our treasure Christian Stewardship is all that we do, with all that we have, after we say “I believe.” Stewardship is the intentional use of all the resources and gifts that God has given us to restore all people to unity with God and each other. |
| Our relationship with God Our work of mission and ministry Our personal commitment of faith Our means of supporting the church "And of all that you give me I will surely give one tenth to you." Genesis 28:22 |
Stewardship is:
Good news: God has given us creative power and we are trusted to manage this power to
re-create the world in the image and likeness of God.
Thanksgiving: We give thanks to God for all that we have been given and respond by
sharing what we have with others.
Commitment: Are our beliefs reflected in our commitments? How we actually spend our time,
talents and treasure is a telling sign of our spiritual life and our stewardship.
Joy: Through stewardship and sharing we discover our true worth. It brings us closer to God.
We feel more grounded and experience deep joy.
Stewardship is more than church support. It is the use of the gifts God has given us for God’s
work in the world. Once we understand that even the determination to work hard to achieve
what we have achieved is also a gift of God to us, we are then brought to the question,
“Then how much of God’s money should I keep?”
Richard Foster, The Celebration of a Disciplined life.
Our Stewardship…
deepens knowledge and faith among us: education programs, like the Inquirers Class or Bible
Studies, or other Adult Education Offerings.
fosters spiritual growth of children and young people: Sunday School, First Communion study,
Youth Confirmation, Deanery Youth Group, Scholarships for diocesan camps and programs.
gives to needs outside of the parish: our ministry to Fairchild Manor, Camp Coast Care,
Police Chaplaincy and Law Enforcement concerns, Episcopal Community Services, Episcopal
Relief and Development, United Thank Offering, and various other worthy causes. We stay
alert for ways to meet the needs of the larger community and its helping organizations.
keeps God’s house in order: management and maintenance of our buildings and properties,
finances, administration, communication.
responds to the needs of the congregation: pastoral care, healing services, hospitality,
fellowship events.
creates worship and songs of praise to God: worship services, acolytes, altar guild, choir and
music, lay eucharistic ministers and lay eucharistic visitors, lectors, ushers; leadership in
community worship, such as the 9/11 Remembrance Service, or special services relating to
wars and natural disasters.
What is Stewardship to me?
Your stewardship, how you give of your time, talents, and treasure, is a personal decision. As
you consider your stewardship of God’s creation:
Pray: Ask God to give you a clear vision of the prudent management of the resources you
control.
Listen: Communication with God in prayer goes both ways, if we let it.
Observe: Evaluate what you have compared to the majority of people in the world.
Decide: Determine what proportion of your resources should be returned to God for the
benefit of others.
Remember: Your commitment is based on your situation now. If your situation changes, it is
appropriate that your pledge changes also.
Offer: Present your pledge of money to God at the Altar on Pledge Sunday, October 5th. Offer
your pledge of time and talents through participation at St. Paul’s all year long.
Camp Coast Care put our volunteers on their knees in more ways than one!
How much should I give?
Reflect on the message of Scripture and of the Gospels. We are encouraged to practice the
tithe or to have a plan over a few years of attaining a tithe (1/10th of our income). Remember
that at St. Paul’s, nearly all our annual costs are paid from our pledges. The ministries of St.
Paul’s are dependent upon our pledges. Here are five reasons to tithe, from the Stewardship
Office of the Episcopal Church in the USA.
Ancient Model: tithing is our most ancient model for giving. (Genesis 28:10-22).
Trust in God: tithing helps us worship God more in our lives, because it encourages spiritual
growth and trust in God.
Financial Wisdom: tithing brings God’s wisdom to our finances, exercising a healthy
spiritual discipline over them.
Ministry Support: tithing provides the means to keep our staff in service to God.
Congregational Strength: tithing strengthens the ministry, outreach and health of
congregations, molding them into true Christian communities of faith, love, and grace.
Our fund-raisers have helped us make up the gap between our income and our expenses.
re-create the world in the image and likeness of God.
Thanksgiving: We give thanks to God for all that we have been given and respond by
sharing what we have with others.
Commitment: Are our beliefs reflected in our commitments? How we actually spend our time,
talents and treasure is a telling sign of our spiritual life and our stewardship.
Joy: Through stewardship and sharing we discover our true worth. It brings us closer to God.
We feel more grounded and experience deep joy.
Stewardship is more than church support. It is the use of the gifts God has given us for God’s
work in the world. Once we understand that even the determination to work hard to achieve
what we have achieved is also a gift of God to us, we are then brought to the question,
“Then how much of God’s money should I keep?”
Richard Foster, The Celebration of a Disciplined life.
Our Stewardship…
deepens knowledge and faith among us: education programs, like the Inquirers Class or Bible
Studies, or other Adult Education Offerings.
fosters spiritual growth of children and young people: Sunday School, First Communion study,
Youth Confirmation, Deanery Youth Group, Scholarships for diocesan camps and programs.
gives to needs outside of the parish: our ministry to Fairchild Manor, Camp Coast Care,
Police Chaplaincy and Law Enforcement concerns, Episcopal Community Services, Episcopal
Relief and Development, United Thank Offering, and various other worthy causes. We stay
alert for ways to meet the needs of the larger community and its helping organizations.
keeps God’s house in order: management and maintenance of our buildings and properties,
finances, administration, communication.
responds to the needs of the congregation: pastoral care, healing services, hospitality,
fellowship events.
creates worship and songs of praise to God: worship services, acolytes, altar guild, choir and
music, lay eucharistic ministers and lay eucharistic visitors, lectors, ushers; leadership in
community worship, such as the 9/11 Remembrance Service, or special services relating to
wars and natural disasters.
What is Stewardship to me?
Your stewardship, how you give of your time, talents, and treasure, is a personal decision. As
you consider your stewardship of God’s creation:
Pray: Ask God to give you a clear vision of the prudent management of the resources you
control.
Listen: Communication with God in prayer goes both ways, if we let it.
Observe: Evaluate what you have compared to the majority of people in the world.
Decide: Determine what proportion of your resources should be returned to God for the
benefit of others.
Remember: Your commitment is based on your situation now. If your situation changes, it is
appropriate that your pledge changes also.
Offer: Present your pledge of money to God at the Altar on Pledge Sunday, October 5th. Offer
your pledge of time and talents through participation at St. Paul’s all year long.
Camp Coast Care put our volunteers on their knees in more ways than one!
How much should I give?
Reflect on the message of Scripture and of the Gospels. We are encouraged to practice the
tithe or to have a plan over a few years of attaining a tithe (1/10th of our income). Remember
that at St. Paul’s, nearly all our annual costs are paid from our pledges. The ministries of St.
Paul’s are dependent upon our pledges. Here are five reasons to tithe, from the Stewardship
Office of the Episcopal Church in the USA.
Ancient Model: tithing is our most ancient model for giving. (Genesis 28:10-22).
Trust in God: tithing helps us worship God more in our lives, because it encourages spiritual
growth and trust in God.
Financial Wisdom: tithing brings God’s wisdom to our finances, exercising a healthy
spiritual discipline over them.
Ministry Support: tithing provides the means to keep our staff in service to God.
Congregational Strength: tithing strengthens the ministry, outreach and health of
congregations, molding them into true Christian communities of faith, love, and grace.
Our fund-raisers have helped us make up the gap between our income and our expenses.