Give Thanks to the Lord: An Introduction to Stewardship
On Saturday 22 October, a group of clergy and laity met at St Robert’s in Washington to learn something about stewardship. The day was led by Teresa Keogh, the Diocesan Advisor for Stewardship and Collaborative Ministry for the Diocese of Portsmouth.
Like many things in the Church, stewardship is nothing new but reminds us of some key insights:
- Everything we have is a gift from God.
- Being aware that everything is a gift leads us to thankfulness and a desire to respond to that generosity.
- God gives each person gifts that they can develop to serve the Church and the world.
This “attitude of gratitude” is part of what helps us to grow in our stewardship – or discipleship. As the US Bishops outlined in their Pastoral Letter on Stewardship: A Disciple’s Response, we develop:
- Gratitude
- Responsibility
- Openness and generosity
- Willingness to give back with increase
In the United States, much of stewardship focuses on finance – parishes are responsible much more for salaries and supporting people in need of welfare. What is happening in the United Kingdom is helping to shift the balance back to stewardship as a spirituality and way of life with finance as just one component of that.
Prayer and Reflection at the Stewardship Day
The afternoon was largely given over to reflecting on the gifts God had given to us and included time for personal reflection. In the prayer at the end, some of the gifts of those present – just three from each person - were read out.
We were left with the thought: if these are just some of the gifts that God has given to just 36 people from the diocese then how many more are there out there waiting to be used in the service of God, the Church and the world? And what difference would we make to our diocese and local areas if we received them with gratitude and used them with generosity?
More information about stewardship:
http://www.portsmouthdiocese.org.uk/pastoralformation/stewardship/
Each new day if God’s gift to you.
What you do with it is your gift to God.