What Stewardship Means to Us

Our Stewardship Committee Presents Reflections on “What Stewardship Means to Us”.  These reflections are from a young family who have been Stewards at St. George for several years. 

"When asked to write a few thoughts on what stewardship means to us and our family, it was admittedly hard to put it into words.  Stewardship isn't something we really thought about, it was just something that we did. Naturally, and freely.  And then we realized, it's because we grew up watching our parents go to church, donate to the church, and live the church as part of their daily lives that it was only natural for us to continue doing all those things as adults; it's what we knew, it's the example we had, and so that's what we did.  And it's how the church we knew as children continued to operate and exist as we became adults. We still hear our mothers reminding us that "we give from what we have, not from what's left."  Indeed, didn't the widow's mite count more than the rich men's abundances? ("Truly I say to you that this poor widow has put in more than all; 4 all these out of their abundance have put in offerings for God, but she out of her poverty put in all the livelihood that she had." Luke 21:3-4). 

To us, the widow's mite is the purest form of stewardship.  Growing up, stewardship was simply part of the family budget - both weekly and yearly.  Our parents believed and taught us that giving back to the church from the earthly gifts God gives us was one of the ways to offer thanks and glory to God, as "every good and perfect gift is from above." Now that we are parents, we understand the importance of teaching by example. From the way we treat strangers to the way our family spends its money, the kids are watching.  And if we're going to teach the next generation to love and help the church freely, they must watch us do the same.  The church supports its community and the community supports the church. To us, stewardship has always been that simple.  When our kids are asked the same question in 20 years - "what does stewardship mean to you?" - our hope is that they can respond the same way, that they grew up knowing and seeing stewardship as a natural way to use our talents to maintain, support and grow the church, all for the glory of God."

Sincerely,                                                                                                              

A young family from St. George