Stewardship 101
By Alice Matisz
You may have noticed an upcoming Stewardship Conference in Calgary www.wccsc.ca and wondered what is meant by ‘stewardship’.
It has been said that, “Once one chooses to become a disciple of Jesus Christ stewardship is not an option.” So perhaps it is wise to understand this Christian imperative.
There are four principles to stewardship.
1. Receive God's gifts with gratitude. We acknowledge our dependence on God for all good gifts. Identifying what we have, we recognise abundance.
2. Cultivate God's gifts responsibly. We are accountable to God for managing gifts given to us and we do so for the glory of God and in the service of humankind.
3. Share God's gifts lovingly and fairly with others. By working for justice, caring for those in need and putting our abilities and resources at the service of others, we continue Jesus' saving work in the world.
4. Return God's gifts with increase. It is often the fear of losing what we have, coupled with inertia, that keeps us from giving. Yet, the Gospel urges us not to hoard or be content with the status quo. Like the parable of the ten talents, if we use our time wisely, God will give us more time. If we use our energy wisely, God will give us more energy. And if we use our money wisely, God will give us more of that too.
Each of these principles is explained in more detail on the Calgary diocese website http://www.calgarydiocese.ca/stewardship.
In those pages you will also find Bishop Robert Morneau’s “Garden” pamphlet which is a series of questions to help assess how responsibly we manage God’s gifts to us (principle #2 above).
True stewardship goes beyond the cliché of Time, Talent and Treasure. It is a state of being. It is about our identity as followers of Christ. When we embrace the totality of stewardship, it has the potential to transform not just our communities but ourselves as well.
It has been said that, “Once one chooses to become a disciple of Jesus Christ stewardship is not an option.” So perhaps it is wise to understand this Christian imperative.
There are four principles to stewardship.
1. Receive God's gifts with gratitude. We acknowledge our dependence on God for all good gifts. Identifying what we have, we recognise abundance.
2. Cultivate God's gifts responsibly. We are accountable to God for managing gifts given to us and we do so for the glory of God and in the service of humankind.
3. Share God's gifts lovingly and fairly with others. By working for justice, caring for those in need and putting our abilities and resources at the service of others, we continue Jesus' saving work in the world.
4. Return God's gifts with increase. It is often the fear of losing what we have, coupled with inertia, that keeps us from giving. Yet, the Gospel urges us not to hoard or be content with the status quo. Like the parable of the ten talents, if we use our time wisely, God will give us more time. If we use our energy wisely, God will give us more energy. And if we use our money wisely, God will give us more of that too.
Each of these principles is explained in more detail on the Calgary diocese website http://www.calgarydiocese.ca/stewardship.
In those pages you will also find Bishop Robert Morneau’s “Garden” pamphlet which is a series of questions to help assess how responsibly we manage God’s gifts to us (principle #2 above).
True stewardship goes beyond the cliché of Time, Talent and Treasure. It is a state of being. It is about our identity as followers of Christ. When we embrace the totality of stewardship, it has the potential to transform not just our communities but ourselves as well.