Tag Archives: flourish

A Lifelong Process…

14 Thursday Nov 2013

Posted by in Uncategorized

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , , , , , , ,

This stewardship reflection is offered by St. Margaret’s Parishioner, Kim Irvine.  

It seems that people often associate stewardship with feelings of dread, awkwardness, and anxiety, when in fact the goal of a stewardship campaign is to generate excitement and energy about the achievements our church has experienced, and share the hopes and dreams for the future.  We as a community in Christ need to have intentional discussions about the financial standing of our church.  How can we know what the needs of the church are, without having these crucial conversations?  This year let’s try not to view stewardship as a time we have to “get through”, but instead embrace stewardship as a way of life; living each day knowing that all we have is a gift from God, and we are responsible to use what we have been given to the glory of God.

I believe we at St. Margaret’s are witnessing first hand how stewardship results in helping not only the members of our congregation, but also those in our community and beyond.  New programs are being developed, we’ve seen new initiatives launched, and the buildings and grounds we are blessed with are being maintained and improved.  None of this would be possible without your stewardship.  Your pledges and generous contributions are facilitating growth and change within and outside our church.

In doing some research for this blog post I came upon the following quote:

“Have you ever heard anyone say, ‘My church is always asking for money.  I wish I could belong to a church that never needed any money.’  Surely they don’t mean that.  Any church that is alive needs money.  Only dead churches do not call on their members for support.  If anyone should accuse your church of always needing and calling for money, regard it as a compliment.  Invite this person to rejoice with you that you both belong to something that is living and productive for Jesus Christ rather than a dead, stagnant organization from which glory of Christ has departed.”[1]

For me, these words were really eye opening; they made me grateful to be part of a church that is “alive,” and full of God’s love.

Please prayerfully consider your pledge for this year; your continued financial support of St. Margaret’s will propel us to do the amazing things God has planned for us, and keep us flourishing in faith!

Respectfully submitted by Kim Irvine

A Loving and Thankful Heart…

01 Friday Nov 2013

Posted by in Uncategorized

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , , , , , , ,

The following post is a guest post from parishioner Barbara Archer:

Courtesy of diapersanddivinity.com.

Courtesy of diapersanddivinity.com.

Our Stewardship Drive for 2014 is quickly drawing to an end and it is my hope that after receiving the Stewardship Committee’s letter and blue-colored pledge card you have been prayerfully considering your pledge to St. Margaret’s Church for the coming year. This year’s theme, “Flourish in Faith,” has a particularly beautiful association for me because it so similarly depicts St. Margaret’s and what has been happening in our parish during the past two years!

Since Jennifer became a part of our church family, as our parish priest, we have seen so many wonderful and overdue changes.  Most importantly, she has encouraged us to Seek, Serve, and Share in numerous ways. This is so important because as the song Day by Day tells us we now, “See thee more clearly, love thee more dearly, and follow thee more nearly, day by day.” To me this is the crux of stewardship: Loving Christ and the Christ that we see and meet in others. I believe that our church family has truly stepped up in their efforts to serve Christ and our collective faith is flourishing! Christ is blessing us with his overwhelming love and in return we want to give thanks to God with an appreciative and thankful heart!

One way that we do this is by giving back ten percent of what He has financially blessed us with.  Many feel that this is a hardship. Some people ask if they have to give all ten percent to the church or can they give to others.  Others say that they can’t give ten percent. To me, this is something between you and Christ, and He knows your heart.  I would only ask you to make your pledge decision after praying and listening to what you are being called to do.

Jesus died on the cross for me and I never forget this. I am very grateful! I am a sinner like each of you but because Christ died on that cross, I have eternal life! This gift of God’s grace to me is priceless! At stewardship time, I give with a loving and thankful heart!

As you put your blue pledge card in the blue envelope and hand it in this Sunday, I have every confidence that with God’s help, our church family will continue to flourish in faith for at least another 50 years because of your generosity!

May God continue to bless you and our St. Margaret’s Church family!

Faithfully in Christ,  Barbara Archer

DON’T FORGET THAT INGATHERING SUNDAY IS THIS SUNDAY, NOV 3RD!