Stewardship 2010: Renewed in Spirit
Welcome to Stewardship Season! This year’s theme is “Renewed In Spirit”. St. Mark’s is moving towards its renewed vision with exciting days ahead for our church. We have seen more visitors and members in worship, the Sunday school classes are buzzing, and the number of volunteers is growing.
The Stewardship Committee invites you to “Renew Your Spirit” by joining us in building and obtaining the vision of St. Mark’s; which is to offer the love of God in Christ by engaging in inspiring worship, reaching out to those in need, spiritual growth and friendship and fun.
Fund-raising is, first and foremost, a form of ministry. It is a way of announcing our vision and inviting other people into our mission. Vision and mission are so central to the life of God’s people that without vision we perish and without mission we lose our way.
· Vision brings together needs and resources to meet those needs.
· Vision also shows us new directions and opportunities for our mission.
· Vision gives us courage to speak when we might want to remain silent.
Fund-raising is proclaiming what we believe in such a way that we offer other people an opportunity to participate with us in our vision and mission. We are inviting you to invest yourself through the resources that God has given you—your energy, your prayers, and your money—in this work to which God has called us.
This year we are embarking on a 12 month stewardship plan. The fall focus will be on Treasure. In the late winter and into spring we will focus on the stewardship of our Talent—those God given gifts and talents that each of us has; some we are well aware of and some we have yet to discover. Then during the summer, we will focus on Time—how do we spend it and are we using it to be good stewards of ourselves?
So, this is the season to focus on Treasure. We are going to engage in the stewardship process in a different format this fall. Each of you will be invited to a small group gathering which will be held in the home of a parishioner. (Not to worry if the date you are invited for doesn’t work in your calendar, we will find a date that will work for you.) We have chosen this format in hopes of providing an informal and relaxed opportunity to share information and ideas with you about the mission of St. Mark’s, how the treasure of St. Mark’s is used, and get feedback from everyone on the life of our parish. Plus it is a wonderful opportunity for fun fellowship!
PS. Mark your calendar…November 15th is Commitment Sunday! We will celebrate our united commitment.