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Stewardship
Thinking Outside the Plate: Re-imagining the Offering
Each week when we present the gifts at the altar, we sing the phrase “All things come of thee O Lord, and of thine own have we given thee.” It is a simple prayer affirming that we hear and respond to God’s call to be good stewards of God’s abundant gifts. Most people tend to think of stewardship in very limited financial terms. In fact, stewardship is a whole way of life: On the one hand, it is a spiritual practice in which we regularly give of our time, abilities, energy and yes, treasure – so that we are effectively using the gifts God has given us, to do the work God is calling us to do. But it is also an intentional way of living faithfully in our personal lives; in our paid work, our leisure time and our relationships. How we steward our lives, our gifts and our ministry has a fundamental impact on the life, mission and future of the church.
The folk here at All Saints have been exceptionally generous in the sharing of both their financial and baptismal gifts. It is this work that currently sustains the community of All Saints. However, with less than 30 active attendees each week, we cannot assume these same people will be available to carry on the work of All Saints indefinitely. Neither can we assume new ones will be automatically flocking to our doors. If we are to live out our mission we must become more outward looking and intentional about our ministry. We must, in the end, be good stewards of all that we do.
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| Treasurer | This past fall, Parish Council identified that work needs to be done to help folk understand and talk about good financial stewardship so that they could make prayerful, informed decisions and develop a strong spiritual approach to stewardship. The first of that initiative is being launched with a talk from Bill Wahl during the Stewardship Sunday service. We have also identified that some folk would appreciate receiving guidelines on how much they might make their free will offering. We are providing those guidelines along with a pledge form, for those who would like to pledge. To make it easier to meet commitments, we are also introducing Pre-Authorized Checking (PAC) as an option for those who might prefer this choice. The stewardship initiative will continue to be developed and integrated into the life of the community as it affects all aspects of our mission.
Vestry recently met for a special seed planting session to identify ways in which we could be better organized to live out the mission of our church and to make participation in the service of God more visible and accessible for those who wished to share their baptismal gifts with All Saints. The outcome was a five year vision for All Saints which identifies five key areas of ministry in need of discernment and development. Please prayerfully consider where your gifts might best be put to use as we continue to build community around these ministries. |
| Time & Talents | |
| Worship Ministry | |
| Communication Ministry | |
| Mission & Outreach Ministry | |
| Finance & Stewardship Ministry | |
| Building Ministry | |
| Cost of Belonging to All Saints |
The proposed mandate of this ministry would include all aspects of worship to enrich the spiritual life of those at All Saints. The worship space, services, altar guild, music, readers, sidespersons would fall under the responsibilities of this ministry.
The proposed mandate of this ministry would be to develop a strong sense of mission and outreach that would include both the geographical parish boundaries and areas farther afield. The responsibilities of this committee may include PWRDF, Cathedral of the north, Campus care, Living the Questions, Education, youth, special events, & evangelism.
The Difference Between Sacrificial Giving and Stewardship
We need to develop a common understanding of what we mean by the terms stewardship, sacrificial giving, proportionate giving and alms-giving. Sometimes these terms are used interchangeably and without precision so we need to be clear about exactly what they mean. While the terms are inter-related – springing from our understanding of stewardship as a way of life – they generally involve increasing levels of obligation on the part of the committed Christian.
The classic definition of Stewardship is the following: “Stewardship is receiving God’s gifts gratefully, cherishing and tending them in a responsible and accountable manner, sharing them in justice and love with others, and returning them with increase to the Lord.” It is a complete lifestyle of total accountability and responsibility acknowledging God as the Creator and Owner of all. Stewards as disciples of Jesus Christ see themselves as caretakers of all God’s gifts. Gratitude for these gifts is expressed in prayer, worship, action and offering by eagerly sharing these gifts out of love for God and one another. Frequently we hear the phrase “time, talent and treasure” as being synonymous with Stewardship.
“Render to God not a tenth, not a third, not a half, but all that is God’s, be it more or less, by employing all on yourself, your household, the household of faith, and all people, in such a manner that you may give a good account for your stewardship when ye can be no longer stewards.” (John Wesley, “On the Use of Money,” 1760)
Sacrificial Giving is used exclusively with respect to the gift of treasure. Sacrificial giving requires that we put God’s priorities before our own, that we put the support of God’s Church and its mission before our own pleasure and comfort. Sacrificial giving involves four principles: it must be a gift, it is planned, it is proportionate and it is a sacrifice – it comes from our substance not our excess. This act can lead us into a closer relationship with God because if we are giving an amount that is truly a sacrifice, then we are giving away something we thought we needed for ourselves, and believing that our security lays not in our material wealth but in God.
Proportionate Giving is an element of Sacrificial Giving. Our gift should reflect our relationship with God. When considering how God has blessed us we should look at our whole life, our health, our families, our jobs etc. As our awareness of God’s goodness in our lives grows, many people find it easy to increase their giving. This is possible because they can clearly see the difference between needs and wants. For those who are new to the concept of proportional giving, an hour’s pay is considered equitable, fair and just. This standard can be applied to all people, rich and not so rich. For those who are retired, they might consider giving the equivalent of an hour’s pay (2.5%) from their retirement income. For those who are unemployed or in a serious financial struggle, they might give of their time and talent to the church on a weekly basis and pray for the ministry of the church.
Generally speaking, average annual giving of 2% (an hours pay) represent financial freedom for most parishes and opens the door to incredible ministry potential. With 2%, parishes can cover all their operating expenses and fund new and diverse ministry.
The term almsgiving is almost universally understood to mean those givings that are exclusive to the poor. Little thought is made of whether the gift is proportionate, planned or sacrificial. While giving alms is associated with Lent, it typically is not referred to in the same context as stewardship.
The proposed mandate of this ministry would be to improve communication among members of All Saints and to communicate the ministry of All Saints to the wider community of Medicine Hat and beyond. The responsibilities may include pastoral care, newsletter, advertising, white board, website, bulletin, announcements, bulletin board, or any method the ministers of this committee decide upon to improve communication.
The mandate of this ministry would be to oversee the finances of the parish. Treasurer and envelope secretary would likely sit on this small committee. In a broader context, this ministry would involve people interested in working towards the overall health and well being of the church as it relates to sound stewardship of gifts.
The proposed mandate of this ministry is to make All Saints a safe, welcoming, and fully accessible community. The responsibilities of this ministry would be maintenance and improvement of the building and grounds.
We propose that each vestry member will sit on one ministry team and will make a report at vestry meetings. (The church wardens will be ex-officio members of each ministry. They would not have to attend each ministry meeting and are free to engage areas of personal interest in the work of the church.)
All Saints Anglican Church
606 12th Street SW
Medicine Hat, AB T1A 4V2
www.allsaintsmedicinehat.com
403-527-3240 Fax 403-527-8010
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