Chapel of the Cross, Chapel Hill, NC

According to the American Heritage College Dictionary, a steward is one who manages another's property, finances, or other affairs. "Stewardship," also a noun, is the act or practice of such management. As Christians, we understand stewardship to involve supporting and caring for all of God's creation, of which we are all a part, and thus means caring for our own affairs as well. As parishioners of the Chapel of the Cross, our ministry of stewardship means managing and providing for our church's property, finances, and other affairs, from which we and many others derive a benefit.

By virtue of my appointment as junior warden, I have the pleasure of chairing the Stewardship Formation Committee for our parish. This committee was created by the vestry in the spring of 2003 to plan and oversee stewardship events and programs of stewardship education. In addition to the junior warden, four committee members are appointed by the vestry, and two of those are to be vestry members. We are supported by the director of Christian education and the parish administrator as staff liaisons. The committee roster presently consists of Bunnie Collura, Ann Henley, Charlie McClaskey, Vivian Varner, and me, with the assistance of Gretchen Jordan and Barbara Hastings. We are currently exploring ways to inform the parish about stewardship as a ministry and to make our stewardship efforts more visible through existing media.

In addition, the Stewardship Formation Committee coordinates the work of three sub-committees: Special Giving, Capital Giving, and Annual Giving. At present, the Special Giving Committee, chaired by Syd Alexander, is meeting regularly to work on a timetable for introducing parish materials concerning designated giving, where those seeking to make a particular gift are given information on the current needs and goals of the parish, and planned giving, which involves including the Chapel of the Cross as a beneficiary of one's estate.

A Capital Giving Committee is yet to be appointed and the Stewardship Formation Committee will consider the timing and composition of the future Capital Giving Committee. As envisioned by the vestry in 2003, the Capital Giving Committee will be charged with developing a "long-range (10-year) rolling plan for capital campaigns."

The Annual Giving Committee is charged with planning and overseeing the annual giving campaign, or canvass, each year. This year, the sub-committee is chaired by Kevin Trapani. One of the tasks of the Stewardship Formation Committee is to support the efforts of the annual giving campaign, and we have enlisted the help of several parishioners for a program to inform the parish about stewardship and this year's annual campaign.

Stewardship is a core component of our lives as Christians and involves an ongoing commitment throughout each year. Nevertheless, autumn is the season when stewardship comes to the forefront of our corporate functioning. I encourage you to open your hearts and minds to the practice of stewardship in the weeks to come and engage yourself in that practice - as stewards of the ministry of our parish - for the months and years to follow.

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