Dear Friends,

It is an honor to be a steward. A person entrusts something of great value only to someone held in high esteem and deemed responsible and capable of taking care of the precious possession. Often there is also great affection between the owner and the steward.

That is the case of God with us. God entrusts many things for us to take care of and be fruitful with: our lives, our earth, our bodies, our minds, our hearts, our money, our time, our training. All of these and more are great gifts of God to us, which we are freely expected to use but also accountable for how we do so. Although we speak of “owning” what we have, of course these things are only under our charge and for a limited period of time. We do well to recognize that we are ‘only’ stewards, for that is a freeing and life-giving truth, which should guide us in our attitudes and our decisions.

But we should also rejoice and be glad that God honors us as stewards. As flawed and limited as we are in comparison with the love and power of God, God chooses to pour blessings upon us and to ask us to respect and care for these gifts by using them to love God and love others. “What is man that you should be mindful of him?…You have made him little lower than the angels; you adorn him with glory and honor; you give him mastery over the works of your hands; you put all things under his feet” (Psalm 8:5-7).

Charlie Brown, in the Peanuts comic strip, used to moan, “There is nothing so burdensome as a great potential!” The responsibilities of being stewards may strike us the same way – as a burden. But think of the great love and honor that God showers us with in making us chosen stewards. God could have decided otherwise.

And unlike others who rely on stewards or trustees to handle things for them, God does not leave us on our own. Rather God’s continuing grace and presence – and frequent forgiveness – enable us to fulfill the Divine mandate and expectations. We need not flee from our responsibilities nor be paralyzed by fear of failure. God’s amazing grace and love are what we rely on.

In this issue you will read about some of our parish’s endeavors at corporate stewardship, which inform and complement and make possible our individual efforts. Our care for the earth God created (and continues to create), our financial stewardship, and our outreach ministry, as exemplified in the ABC Sale, all are ways we as a parish live out our Christian stewardship. While they are responsibilities, they are not burdens. They are honors bestowed upon us by a loving God who trusts us and holds us in high esteem.

Faithfully,
- Stephen