Stewardship is all that I do, with all that I have, after I say “I believe.”
Stewardship teaches that all that we have and all that we are is a gift from God. We are merely stewards of God's gifts during our lifetime. Discerning and carrying out God's purpose for us is the primary purpose of our lives. The gifts we have been given, time, talent, and money, should be retuned to God through work in his church.
Giving is a significant spiritual discipline. St. Paul's Church encourages giving by providing a variety of opportunities to give of your time, talents, and treasure. Each fall we ask our members to make a formal pledge to the Annual Operating Fund by completing and signing a pledge card. However, stewardship is a year round focus in our parish. As faithful stewards of our individual “gifts” from God many parishioners contribute gifts of time and share their talents across various ministries all year long. To learn more about giving of your time and talent, visit the parish life and outreach sections of our site. These types of “giving” are a joyful response to God's generosity to us.
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Stewardship Prayer
DISTURB US, LORD, when we are too well pleased with ourselves, When our dreams have come true because we dreamed too little,
When we arrive safely because we sailed too close to the shore.
Disturb us, Lord, when with the abundance of things we possess,
We have lost our thirst for the waters of life;
Having fallen in love with life, we have ceased to dream of eternity,
And in our efforts to build new Earth,
We have allowed our vision of the new Heaven to dim.
Disturb us, Lord, to dare more boldly, to venture on wider seas, where storms will show your mastery;
Where losing sight of land, we shall find stars.
We ask you to push back the horizons of our hopes, and to push us in the future in strength, courage, hope, and love.
This we ask in the name of Jesus Christ.
Amen
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