Dear Friends,

Over the next 4 weeks, we at THCC will be exploring the meaning of stewardship in the life of a church. I invite you to be curious or even excited because the theme is rich and deep.

For those who have been through this process, it is easy to reduce it to a kind of necessary fundraising campaign. Stewardship is not a fundraising campaign unless you mean a group of beautiful and dedicated people who are re-committing to God (and the world!) with mind, heart, body and resources. To restate the obvious, we don’t get the beautiful chapel, the inspired music, educated clergy, a NEW website, or the opportunity to affect thousands of other lives without resources. None of it is guaranteed. It does not take care of itself.

So if stewardship is not a fundraising campaign, what is it? From a faith perspective, it is most essentially about identity and the primacy of one’s relationship with God. In other words, it is about DEVOTION and GRATITUDE and WITNESS. Stewardship asks important existential questions:

- How devoted are you to God and the presence of God in your life?

- How grateful are you for the obvious and not so obvious gifts that God pours into our lives?

- How ready are you to be generous and offer yourself to the world in a bold way?

I wrote above “It Does Not Take Care of Itself”. By ‘it’, I mean neither God nor the thing can care for itself alone. The earth needs us to care. The institution of the family needs us to care. The community of faith needs us to care.

This year as we lean into the stewardship campaign I pray for a joining of hands and hearts so that we might joyfully recommit to taking care of the things that matter most.

Warmly,

Carter