Saturday, 6:00 P.M. Taizé,
5th Saturday – Evensong

Sunday, 8:00 A.M. (Rite I)

Sunday, 10:30 A.M. (Rite II, and Live Stream)

Transforming and Generosity

Rector’s Corner, October 4, 2018

Dear CtK Members,

Well, it’s the time of year when we kick-off our Stewardship Champaign for 2018.  Yet, stewardship is something we participate in all year long, not just between October and December in preparation for our 2019 Budget.

Many define stewardship as our time, talent, and treasurer given to do God’s work in our world.  At our services this weekend I am going to focus on two of these aspects of stewardship, namely, time and talent.  Along with financially supporting our church to do God’s work in this world, using our time and talent is critical to our work as a church.  I think this will be even more apparent when you visually see the sheer volume of volunteers it takes just at our church to do God’s work.

Our theme this year for stewardship is “transforming generosity”.  How do we go about doing such a thing, and what does transformed generosity actually look like?   First, for me, understanding that everything I have in my life is a gift from God is a great place to start.  God doesn’t need our time, talent, and treasure, but God asks for us to willing and cheerful give back to do God’s work in the world – the choice is ours.  The biblical standard for giving is a tenth, or a tithe, of our earnings.  Being obedient to God’s Word is the best stewardship for our lives.  Yet, I know that a tenth is often difficult for many people.

Medical bills, taxes, food, housing, car repairs, and utilities all need to be paid – so what do we have left over to give?  Sometimes, not a lot, but sometimes more than we think.  God asks for a tenth of our treasure, but also of our time and talent.  These are not mutually exclusive.  We should be giving generously of our time, talent and treasurer God has bestowed on us.  When we do this, we begin to see how God transforms our lives and in response, how our generosity is being transformed.

You may have heard the saying, “Fake it until you make it”.  Sometimes we just have to force ourselves to give to God’s work in the world, kind of like “faking we like to give”.  This action on our part allows God to transforms our hearts, so we really can be cheerful givers.  In other words, God is working on our hearts, transforming our generosity.

As we move forward into our Stewardship Champaign, I pray you will take seriously and prayerfully what God is calling you to give.  To do God’s work in this world takes all of us working together using our time and talent in ministry, as well as, giving our treasurer.  We have a lot of work to do in this world, and we cannot do what we need to without the resources to accomplish these tasks.  Please join me as we continue to experience God in our lives through the ministry at Christ the King, and give back, so that the world in which we live can be transformed to be the place God intended for ALL God’s children.

Blessings in Christ,

Mother Anita+