NEWS
Sue Devereux
7 June 2011
At its heart, stewardship is a recognition that all we have and all we are is a gift from God. It is a way of looking at the world through the eyes of a disciple of Christ. It is saying ‘I am a gift from God’ and being generous with all God has given me – abilities, experiences, possessions, knowledge.
Stewardship challenges me to use my gifts for God and for those people who are part of my life.
The more I aim for the best, the more I see how everything comes from God and this leaves me profoundly thankful.
Stewardship has us asking these questions:
• Who do I know that is already living this kind of life?
• What does it look like?
And immediately images of hospitality, willingness, love of people, generous service and great joy come to mind.
Good stewards smile at you in a way that lets you know you belong. They are the ones you want to be around, to be part of what they are part of, because of the joy they have. You hear words of thankfulness, talk of prayer in their lives and you listen to the next challenge they feel called to.
Imagine a whole parish of thankful, generous, involved people. This is stewardship – alive and well.
Stewardship is not a programme or an end in itself, but a way of life that continually challenges us to grow as disciples in our giftedness and generosity.
How to help your parish to embrace a stewardship way of life – come to the Stewardship Institute in August. Bring friends. Dream about what this Institute could do for the people you care about in your faith community.
Those who have been to an Institute before are full of its praise. One young dad said:
‘After attending the Stewardship Institute, I now look at my life, especially my faith life, in a different way. In my family, work life and in the way I worship, I am changed. For me, this means acting out of a sense of gratitude and generosity in all situations.
‘For example, when I am really annoyed with my children, I try to remember that my relationship with Jesus calls me to see them as gifts from God. It makes all the difference to the way I treat them.’
Brochures and registration forms will be in parishes soon.