Late Summer 2018
Dear Friends:
Even as the first leaves begin to turn signaling the end of summer, September is a time of beginnings. Younger children return to school; older children go off to college – or to a new chapter in their lives. We look forward to to breaking of the summer heat and the beauty of autumn in New England. For us at Second Christian, it’s the time of year we are called on to envision where God is leading us, what God is calling us to be, and how we are to get there. It is Stewardship season.
Stewardship is simply the care and allocation of resources. And it is one of the defining characteristics of any household, but especially for a household of faith. What we believe about ourselves, what we value, how we understand our mission in the world, who we understand our God to be, and what we want to become, are all given substance through the stewardship of our resources.
When we talk about stewardship, we often talk about money and budgets (specifically budget deficits). We use charts and figures to tell people about where the church is financially. We talk about numbers and programs and what we think we need to continue the work God calls us to do. But in the end Stewardship is not just about money; it's not just about numbers.
Stewardship is really about a faithful response to the love God demonstrates for us in our daily lives and in the life of this church. Stewardship is an opportunity for us to respond by sharing our gifts and talents with faith and generosity. In the end, our commitment to the work of the church is a personal decision between ourselves and our God, but the decisions we make as individuals impact the lives of everyone in our community.
Hopefully you received a Stewardship packet in the mail in the past few weeks and have had a chance to consider your giving to support the ministries of Second Christian Church for the next 12 months. I hope you will give prayerful and faithful consideration of your support for this church we all love so well. We will be invited to offer our Faith Promises in worship on Rally Sunday – September 9. I hope you will plan to be present for this special celebration as we chart our course forward.
Grace and Peace,
Brad
Dear Friends:
Even as the first leaves begin to turn signaling the end of summer, September is a time of beginnings. Younger children return to school; older children go off to college – or to a new chapter in their lives. We look forward to to breaking of the summer heat and the beauty of autumn in New England. For us at Second Christian, it’s the time of year we are called on to envision where God is leading us, what God is calling us to be, and how we are to get there. It is Stewardship season.
Stewardship is simply the care and allocation of resources. And it is one of the defining characteristics of any household, but especially for a household of faith. What we believe about ourselves, what we value, how we understand our mission in the world, who we understand our God to be, and what we want to become, are all given substance through the stewardship of our resources.
When we talk about stewardship, we often talk about money and budgets (specifically budget deficits). We use charts and figures to tell people about where the church is financially. We talk about numbers and programs and what we think we need to continue the work God calls us to do. But in the end Stewardship is not just about money; it's not just about numbers.
Stewardship is really about a faithful response to the love God demonstrates for us in our daily lives and in the life of this church. Stewardship is an opportunity for us to respond by sharing our gifts and talents with faith and generosity. In the end, our commitment to the work of the church is a personal decision between ourselves and our God, but the decisions we make as individuals impact the lives of everyone in our community.
Hopefully you received a Stewardship packet in the mail in the past few weeks and have had a chance to consider your giving to support the ministries of Second Christian Church for the next 12 months. I hope you will give prayerful and faithful consideration of your support for this church we all love so well. We will be invited to offer our Faith Promises in worship on Rally Sunday – September 9. I hope you will plan to be present for this special celebration as we chart our course forward.
Grace and Peace,
Brad