Holy Comforter - Parish Life

Stewardship Education

Stewardship Education at Church of the Holy Comforter is about “faith raising” not “fund raising”.

“For who sees anything different in you? What have you that you did not receive? If then you received it, why do you boast as if it were not a gift?” 1 Corinthians 4:7 RSV

Stewardship Education Vision Statement

We believe.....
that as children of God, everything we have belongs to God, and that we are trustworthy custodians (stewards) of those resources indispensable to the life and well being of the community of God.

We commit ourselves.....
to wisely and lovingly care for that over which we have authority – time, talents, trees^* and treasures.

We invite the congregation.....
to embrace a vision of holistic stewardship as modeled by Barnabas – one who gives generously; one who welcomes graciously; one who helps others understand that they to can be holistic stewards.

We challenge the community of Holy Comforter.....
to join us in this vision, understanding that as holistic stewards we pledge our generosity in giving of our time, talent and treasure, indeed our very selves for the accomplishment of God’s Divine Will.

A Message from the Stewardship Education Team....

The word STEWARD comes from the Old English term Sty-Ward and reflects the practice of appointing particularly reliable workers to be warden of the sty (the gathering); thus, sty-wards. These wardens were to become trustworthy custodians of those resources that were indispensable to the life and well being of the whole community. They were to lovingly and prudently care for that over which they had authority.

For far too long, stewardship has been synonymous in the minds of many Christians with pledge drives, budgets, and capital fundraising. Holy Scripture, however, has always been clear that God wants more than our offerings; God wants us to be intentional and focused about all that we are and all that we have. It has been wisely said that our financial focus must not be limited to the ten percent we offer as the tithe, but instead include the other ninety percent that we spend or save. Even so, a purely financial focus can itself be too limiting. Our vision of stewardship must be a holistic one.

While the term holistic may be a modern one, the reality it represents has a rich history in the biblical texts and the Church’s history. Indeed, no one represents an intentional, focused, holistic approach to stewardship better than Joseph, the Levite from Cyprus , called Barnabas by the apostles. Barnabas calls for our attention and has a lesson to teach us. For above all else, Barnabas is the model holistic steward.

Barnabas first appears in Luke’s account in Acts as a disciple who, having a field that belonged to him, sold it and brought the proceeds from that sale in full, laying them at the feet of the apostles. Distribution was then made, so that “there was not a needy person among them”. For Barnabas, giving generously (Acts 4:32–37) is the starting point of Christian stewardship, an opening into a deeper spiritual life.

When Barnabas reappears in Acts, it is in full force, welcoming Paul (Saul) when others avoided him and personally bringing him to the “rector and vestry” of the Jerusalem church. “Barnabas took him, brought him to the apostles,” and vouched for the newcomer Paul. Barnabas welcomes graciously (Acts 9:26–31).

To Barnabas, a newcomer like Paul was not simply a “church consumer” to add to the rolls and attend programs, but rather a fellow steward with unique gifts and talents that could be used for the church’s work of mission (Acts 11:19–30). From the moment we are introduced to Barnabas, we realize that he did have silver and gold to give, which he freely did so for the work of ministry. His greater gift, however, was to help others see what they had to give.

We invite the community of Holy Comforter to join in a vision of understanding that as holistic stewards we pledge our generosity in giving of our time, talent and treasure, indeed our very selves for the accomplishment of God’s Divine Will.

Adapted from - Barnabas: A Model for Holistic Stewardship- published by The Episcopal Network for Stewardship in celebration of ministry to the Episcopal Church and the greater Christian community.

The term Oikonomia (Economia)– comes from the ancient Greek scriptures and has been translated as stewardship – or household manager. The term Oiko (Eco) is the root of our modern terms Economy and Ecology. Thus, in a broad sense, stewardship, economics and ecology are related.