St. Thomas - Giving

KEY CONCEPTS/TRUTHS God loves us and wants us to have all that we need to live a joyful and productive life. All that we are and all that we have are gifts from God. Tithing is an important spiritual practice. It helps establish a healthy regard for money. It helps us to live the life God hopes we will have. Persons in the United States possess considerably more wealth than the majority of people in the world. We make decisions to use this wealth generously for good or selfishly for our own indulgence. Jesus has a lot to say about our use of money. STEWARDSHIP THOUGHTS Stewardship is “what I do with all that I have, after I say, ‘I believe,’ ” and “using the gifts God has given us, to do the work God is calling us to do.”
Giving What Do We Believe about Stewardship at St. Thomas? Stewardship is the link between what we say we believe on Sunday morning and what we do throughout the week. To be God's steward means to commit all that we are and all that we have to the service of the two great commandments: 1) God is the creator, and no idols, including money and power, may be put in place of God; 2) All other people in the world have the same right to have their needs met as we do. Jesus says these commandments are more important than all the other laws and regulations in the Hebrew Scriptures (Old Testament), and that all the other laws and regulations must be interpreted in light of these two fundamental commandments. Stewardship and Spiritual Discipline Since money is such a powerful force in our lives, how we manage money is critical to the service to God's commandments. Our pledge to the church is a spiritual discipline that helps prevent money from becoming an idol. In modern society, our professional work and labor are translated into a paycheck. Therefore, our pledge to the church represents an offering of all of our "selves, our souls and bodies" in which we pledge to put God's commandments in place of our natural greed and acquisitiveness. The amount of money we give is not important. It is important that our offering be substantial and proportional to the resources we control. Stewardship and our Responsibilities We live out our proper role as God's stewards in our relationships, in our families, at work, and in church. We live out our Christian stewardship in our care of God's good, indeed very good, creation, especially in our care for the environment and for animals. We live out our responsibility as stewards by faithful church attendance so that the sacraments and teaching can have the power to amend our lives. What Can I Do about My Stewardship Responsibilities Now? A Pledge Card plus a Time and Talent packet will invite you to make a pledge of time, talent, and money to the church. In so doing you will join us in our commitment to honor God as our creator and to make God's commandments the first priority in our lives. Please contact the church office to request these stewardship materials.

KEY CONCEPTS/TRUTHS
God loves us and wants us to have all that we need to live a joyful and productive life.

All that we are and all that we have are gifts from God.

Tithing is an important spiritual practice. It helps establish a healthy regard for money. It helps us to live the life God hopes we will have.

Persons in the United States possess considerably more wealth than the majority of people in the world. We make decisions to use this wealth generously for good or selfishly for our own indulgence.

Jesus has a lot to say about our use of money.

STEWARDSHIP THOUGHTS
Stewardship is “what I do with all that I have, after I say, ‘I believe,’ ” and “using the gifts God has given us, to do the work God is calling us to do.”

Giving

What Do We Believe about Stewardship at St. Thomas?

Stewardship is the link between what we say we believe on Sunday morning and what we do throughout the week. To be God's steward means to commit all that we are and all that we have to the service of the two great commandments: 1) God is the creator, and no idols, including money and power, may be put in place of God; 2) All other people in the world have the same right to have their needs met as we do. Jesus says these commandments are more important than all the other laws and regulations in the Hebrew Scriptures (Old Testament), and that all the other laws and regulations must be interpreted in light of these two fundamental commandments.

Stewardship and Spiritual Discipline

Since money is such a powerful force in our lives, how we manage money is critical to the service to God's commandments. Our pledge to the church is a spiritual discipline that helps prevent money from becoming an idol. In modern society, our professional work and labor are translated into a paycheck. Therefore, our pledge to the church represents an offering of all of our "selves, our souls and bodies" in which we pledge to put God's commandments in place of our natural greed and acquisitiveness. The amount of money we give is not important. It is important that our offering be substantial and proportional to the resources we control.

Stewardship and our Responsibilities

We live out our proper role as God's stewards in our relationships, in our families, at work, and in church. We live out our Christian stewardship in our care of God's good, indeed very good, creation, especially in our care for the environment and for animals. We live out our responsibility as stewards by faithful church attendance so that the sacraments and teaching can have the power to amend our lives.

What Can I Do about My Stewardship Responsibilities Now?

A Pledge Card plus a Time and Talent packet will invite you to make a pledge of time, talent, and money to the church. In so doing you will join us in our commitment to honor God as our creator and to make God's commandments the first priority in our lives. Please contact the church office to request these stewardship materials.