Stewardship - the giving of our time, treasure and talent back to God.
"When he looked up he saw some wealthy people putting their offerings into the treasury and he noticed a poor widow putting in two small coins. He said, "I tell you truly, this poor widow put in more than all the rest: for those others have all made offerings from their surplus wealth, but she, from her poverty, has offered her whole livelihood.'" (Luke 21:1-4)
Is this what Stewardship means to you? Are you being called to be a steward? How can you give back a percentage of what God has given to you?
Time
God is not just there on Sunday for you, are you just there on Sunday for Him? Where can you find more time to give back to God? An hour spent watching TV could be spent answering the phone for SVdP. Do you enjoy being outside? Do you have an hour you could spend gardening at St Paul? Do you have a few minutes before or after Mass available to greet people or hand out bulletins. Is music your passion? An hour assembling worship aids is always needed.
Treasure
Tithing is the intentional setting aside of 10% of your income to give back to God. Maybe that seems like a lot, but look at it this way. God wants you to keep 90% and return to him 10% of what He has given you. Does your dollar really make a difference? Yes, every little bit adds up. You might think "What can one dollar do?", but what if everybody just gave one extra dollar a week? What could that mean to St Paul's?
Here is another way to look at what your treasure can mean: $40 equals three pizzas/semester or $80 equals six pizzas/year or one Starbucks coffee/week.
Talent
Can you sing? The choir could use you. Do you like to cook? How nice would it be for a new Mom not to have to cook for awhile? How about shopping? Can you pick up a couple of extra cans of food for the poor?
Each and every one of us has our own unique gifts and talents, let's share these wonderful gifts that God has given us.
