Deep sense of thanksgiving nurtures our generosity
If the only prayer you say in your life is ‘thank you,’ that would suffice.
-Meister Eckhart
Like many of you, I will be filling out at least one pledge card this fall during what we’ve come to know as “stewardship season.” That’s the time in the fall when most churches, planning and budgeting for the coming year, invite us to consider our own giving toward God’s work.
This process seems cemented into the rhythm of the church year. As much as we talk about “year-round stewardship,” the big push in the fall gets most of the attention. And that gives rise to all kinds of techniques to teach a lot of stewardship in a short time.
Don’t get me wrong. I know that in a world where we are flooded with information, we need to have the occasional “attention getter” to focus on something important. This seems particularly true in the world of stewardship.
I have had a cardboard pony express pouch delivered to my house with instructions to add my pledge card and pass the pouch to a fellow parishioner. I’ve enjoyed elaborate and elegant meals in parish halls that included a soft sell about pledging. A California parish where I was a member promised us that if we pledged, no one would come to the house to ask us to give, a tactic that was disturbingly effective. I have been instructed on the significance of the tithe and steeped in the principles of proportional giving. All of those things have been helpful.
In each of those scenarios I have made a pledge but, I have to confess, none of them really grabbed my heart. For what it’s worth, my best stewardship lessons have come more simply. Many of them have come from short homilies or talks by laity who have called me back to the basic truth that our generosity arises out of a deep sense of thanksgiving. These talks come out of real life. They are unembellished truth.
They remind me that the abundance that surrounds me – a home, a job, family, friends, the beauty of creation, a parish community, the many other blessings that can so easily go unnoticed and unacknowledged, come from God. They remind me that none of that “stuff” I’m thankful for really belongs to me, but is simply put into my care. That I am being called to be a good steward – all year round.
That’s what motivates me to give to two churches, three capital campaigns and a couple of other things. That’s what reminds me to be a good steward not just with my financial giving, but in every part of my life.
If a pony express pouch lands at my house this year, I’ll happily add my pledge card. And I know I’ll join into any activity my church chooses to get stewardship “on the screen.” But when push comes to shove, I’m with Meister Eckhart. It’s all about thanksgiving.
If you are interested in some helpful websites for stewardship, try these: The Episcopal Network for Stewardship (TENS) www.tens.org or The Stewardship of Life Institute, a Lutheran organization, www.stewardshipoflife.org.
