About halfway through our Stewardship Campaign, I\u2019m gratified at the way people are responding. Sometimes on Sunday morning I\u2019ll come across two church members in a corner of the church having a quiet conversation and I realize they are having their \u201cone-to-one\u201d meeting. Folks are getting to know each other more deeply. Folks are sharing what they love about the church. Folks are sharing themselves in a beautiful way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Pledges are coming in. We\u2019re having a \u201cloverly\u201d time in worship. The movement of generosity creates its own excitement. Each member\u2019s annual pledge is an expression of how fully they want to invest themselves in the church: just a little? With the church held at arm\u2019s length? Or ten percent more?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The more you give of yourself, opening your heart and spirit to the church, the more you will receive from the church. Think of the difference you feel between a friend you only ever share small talk with and a true friend you share your life with. You give a lot, but you get a lot. Think of the difference between a hobby that you dabble in casually and the extra enjoyment you feel when you give yourself truly to a personal passion, educating yourself, deepening your experience, and sharing your interest with a community. Think of the difference you feel when you\u2019ve read one book by an author, or when you\u2019ve made a commitment to read every book by that author.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If you\u2019ve had your one-to-one conversation, you\u2019ve spent some time thinking, feeling, and articulating, just what it is about the church that has deep value for you. Maybe for the first time you put a name to that quality of the church community, or that program we offer, or work we do, that really feeds your spirit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Maybe it\u2019s worship. Maybe it\u2019s our children\u2019s RE program. Maybe it\u2019s the fun we have together through social gatherings, or the comfort we offer each other through pastoral care. Maybe it\u2019s our work for social justice. Maybe it\u2019s the opportunity to provide leadership, or share your professional expertise, or pride in the building, or helping the vegetable garden flourish.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Once you\u2019ve made your pledge a next step toward further investing yourself in the church could be finding a way to be involved in that quality or program of the church that most calls to you. Do you love worship? Maybe there\u2019s a role for you as an usher, or worship associate. Do you love the way the community takes care of each other? Maybe you could volunteer to visit a homebound member once-a-month. Maybe there\u2019s a spot for you on the Personnel Committee or even the church Board.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Churches depend on the time, talent, and treasure of their members. The Stewardship Campaign focuses on the necessary \u201ctreasure\u201d aspect of pledges. But there are other significant ways to give. Whether time, talent, or treasure, the effect is to give of yourself, from yourself, and then to yourself in the form of your church. Your church.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"