Stewardship Committee

The Stewardship Committee works to increase understanding of stewardship and to promote good stewardship of all resources within the parish. The Stewardship Committee provides information on stewardship through newsletter articles, letters and speakers at worship services.  The Committee also organizes and manages the annual pledge drive as well as Celebration Sunday -- a day on which we thank God for the gifts He has given us, and celebrate the parish and mission accomplishments of the past year.

 

Stewardship is “the practice of celebrating all of life as a trust to be managed on God’s behalf”.  All Christians are stewards.  We don’t have a choice as to whether to be stewards; our only choice is whether to be wise and competent stewards, or unwise and unscrupulous stewards.

Stewardship includes all aspects of our lives.  Giving money to the church is part of good stewardship but stewardship is not limited to the annual pledge drive.  Stewardship includes the use of our time, abilities, minds, talents and all aspects of our lives to worship God and to serve others.  Stewardship springs from the understanding that all we are and all we have are gifts from God.  Regardless of what we give or how much we give, we never actually give to God – it was always His and we are only caretakers of what He has provided.

Good stewardship is the wise use of the resources God has provided.  Managing our finances and our time to extend God’s kingdom, using our talents in the service of others, and having a spiritual attitude toward life’s activities are all parts of stewardship.  When we properly understand stewardship, we see that it is simply the way in which we conduct our lives.  We are good stewards when we wisely use God’s gifts to honor God and to serve others.  We must understand that the annual pledge drive is only one part of stewardship at one time of the year.  It is an important part because the church has financial obligations and ministry requires money, but it is still only part of stewardship.  All that we do with our finances, our time, our talents and our abilities, throughout the whole year, determines whether we are fulfilling Christ’s command to be wise stewards.

A prayer for Service

Almighty God, assist us to see your vision of the growth and vitality of St. Philip's. Help us to reach those who do not know your saving grace. Deepen our commitment; increase our faith and trust, that we may live as witnesses to you. May the Holy Spirit lead us to the service you would have us do, as servants of Christ Jesus our Lord, in whose name we pray. Amen.

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