We hope that these monthly articles have helped you to understand that a Stewardship Lifestyle includes our whole lives.  Yes, being a good steward does involve our money, but it isn’t only about money   This month, we want to briefly discuss two ideas with you: first, that we are Stewards of God’s Grace, and second, a few practical thoughts about end-of-year financial matters. 

     This month, we are preparing for, and celebrating, the birth of Jesus.  During this holy season, we will remember Jesus’ coming into our world is a fulfillment of many messianic prophecies in our sacred Scriptures and, once again, our hearts will be touched by the beautiful story of Jesus’ Nativity. However, the real point of the story is that God Himself came to be with us — as one of us.  We must understand that Christ is God in human form.  The incredible wonder of the Incarnation is not that an ordinary human being somehow became God because of His exemplary life.  The Gospel of John says, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.  He was in the beginning with God.  All things came into being through Him, and without Him not one thing came into being.”  (John 1:1-2a NRSV)   And after that he writes,  “And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen His glory, the glory as of a father’s only Son, full of grace and truth.” (John 1:14 NRSV)  John uses “the Word” as a symbol for Jesus, who is the preexistent Messiah for all of God’s Creation.  Now, while you are thinking about what else the Bible says about Jesus, read Romans 8:3, Galatians 4:4-5, Philippians 2:5-11, and Colossians 1:15-20.   Grace is unmerited favor from God and, because of God’s mercy, we have been blessed with undeserved redemption from our sinfulness through Jesus.  Take time to contemplate that God became one of us, revel in the wonder of this awesome truth about Grace, and then share it with others!  It was given so that we could live in it, and share our Light in the spiritual darkness that surrounds us.  Then let us sing “Joy to the World” with new appreciation and enthusiasm!  God is with us!   This year, have a truly blessed Christmas!

     As we approach the ending of 2019, please consider making generous gifts to Peace Lutheran Church.   Do you want to “catch-up” with the amount that you specified in your Estimate of Planned Giving for June 2019 – May 2020?  If your age is at least 70 1/2, and if you have a Traditional, Rollover, SEP, or SIMPLE IRA, or other retirement plan account (but not a Roth IRA), then you are required by law to take Required Minimum Distributions (RMD) annually.  If so, consider the advantage of having your investment manager transfer your RMD directly to Peace Lutheran Church before the end of this year.  Your end-of-year gifts to the church will be included in the Statement of 2019 Giving that you will receive from Peace’s bookkeeper next January or February.   Please be as generous as you can with your offerings and special gifts.    And when you write your checks to Peace Lutheran Church, please make a notation in the check’s memo space about how you would like the total amount to be distributed (General Fund, Building Fund, etc.). Thanks! 

     Come to our Stewardship Community Connections cluster on Sunday, December 22, 2019!

     In our monthly articles, we have tried to emphasize different aspects of a Stewardship lifestyle.  We hope that you have come to appreciate the depth and breadth of Stewardship, and to recognize that this subject includes our whole lives.   We said previously that a steward is someone who manages another person’s property, finances, or affairs.  This month, we want to remind everyone that we are Stewards of God’s Abundance. 

     We live in a world which focuses on scarcity.  As we wrestle with the daily realities of our lives, we often find ourselves worrying that we don’t have enough – not enough time, possessions, or money.  It seems that everything that we have is perishable and could be gone at any moment, so we feel driven to get more of everything! 

     Jesus said, “I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.” (John 10:10b)    Martin Luther reminds us in his explanation of the First Article of the Apostles’ Creed, “I believe that God has created me and all that exists.  He has given me and still preserves my body and soul with all their powers.  He provides me with food and clothing, home and family, daily work, and all I need from day to day   God also protects me in time of danger and guards me from every evil.  All this He does out of fatherly and divine goodness and mercy, though I do not deserve it.  Therefore I surely ought to thank and praise, serve and obey Him.  This is most certainly true.”  St. Paul wrote, “And my God will fully satisfy every need of yours according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:19)   God is not troubled by scarcity and, as His beloved children, neither should we.  

     We recognize that God has generously filled our lives with blessings – life, family, friends, health, work, opportunities, forgiveness, salvation, and many others.   Just try to count all of them; you cannot do it!  And for these gifts we should always be grateful.  God knows us better than we understand ourselves, and He always provides more than enough to meet our needs.   So we can trust that God will always provide enough for us.   We do not have to worry that God’s bountiful provision for us will ever run out.   And because we have received God’s blessings, we are empowered to respond with thankfulness, kindness, and liberality ourselves.  We are called to share God’s abundance with others, and not just to keep it for ourselves.  We are to live faithfully, gratefully, and generously.   That is what it means for us to be Stewards of God’s Abundance.  

     God daily and abundantly provides for all of our needs.   Let us give thanks for all of the blessings that we have received, and share them with others.  For more information about being Stewards of God’s Abundance, come to our Stewardship Community Connections cluster on November 17.   And have a Blessed Thanksgiving!

     The Stewardship Planning Committee enjoys  bringing you “food for thought” every month about what it means to be good stewards of God’s blessings and resources in this world.  This month we will focus on an area in our lives that might be too easily overlooked: being Stewards of God’s Word.  I must confess there are many times that I suddenly realize that it has been a while since I devoted some focused reading time in my Bible.  I do have my favorite Bible verses, and I have committed a good number of them to memory.  But I find when I take the time to really read the whole story in the chapter, and/or previous verses leading up to my favorite parts, I discover new things that I might not have noticed or understood before. 

      God’s Word is truly a living, breathing document that can transcend the centuries from the time the various authors put these important words from God into written form.  I find that the stories and the teachings from the Bible still hold great value and guidance in my own life.  Psalms 119:105 says, “Your word is a lamp to my feet, and a light to my path.”  The Psalms in the Old Testament are believed to be mostly prayers that were put to music.  Here is an example: read Psalms 100 out loud and imagine what it would be like to sing the words, and clap along with the music!  Here is another example: read John 3:16, and see if you can memorize it.  Do these words still have meaning today, centuries after they were written?  Are they still relevant in the 21^st Century?  If a person memorized this one verse, and recited it every day for a month, do you think their life might be changed in significant ways?

      When we turn again to Jesus’ parable of the Talents in Matthew 25:14-30, we get a pretty good idea of how God might expect his people to behave as stewards of God’s world and resources.  This certainly includes God’s Word.  Let’s insert “God’s Word” in this story, in place of the word “talent”, and hear how that sounds:  Matthew 25:18 – But the one who had received the “Word of God” went off and dug a hole in the ground and hid his master’s “Word”.   That does not feel very good in my heart.

     This reminds us of another important aspect of stewardship; not only are we to cherish and protect God’s Word, we are also required to share it with the world around us.  In I Corinthians 4:1, Paul writes, “Think of us in this way, as servants of Christ, and stewards of God’s mysteries.”  God has gifted us, and entrusted us, with his Word – and He calls us to pass it along to others.  Our primary role as disciples of Jesus, is to study and know God’s Word, and then to communicate that “good news” to our neighbors.

     This month, let us remember what it means to be disciples of Jesus, and to be stewards of God’s Word.  As we read the scriptures, we can take time to meditate on them.  Put yourself in the story and into each scene.  Notice which words really  touch your heart.  Ask the Lord to help you know him through his Word.  And listen for God’s voice speaking to you in numerous ways.  Give thanks for the great gift that God has given us to bless us – His Word.  

     Come to our stewardship Community Connections cluster on October 20 – about being Stewards of God’s Word.

no one leaves home unless

home is the mouth of a shark

you only run for the border

when you see the whole city running as well

– from “Home” by Warsan Shire

About a week ago, I was privileged to join a group of almost 100 religious leaders from across Texas in the Rio Grande valley. Our trip was led by the interfaith advocacy group, Texas Impact (of which the ELCA synods of Texas are members…as are many other denominational bodies and faith traditions). We learned about life in the Valley on the US side of the border. We learned about the asylum process for those seeking to come across the border through Mexico. And we crossed the bridge from Brownsville into Matamoros to bear witness, ourselves.

Just across the Gateway Bridge (an easy passage for someone like me who holds a blue booklet…a U.S. passport…which I did nothing to earn), I met a young mother, with a fourteen-month-old on her shoulder – naked but for a diaper, some rubber shoes, and a small beaded bracelet…a tiny token of love in what felt like a loveless place. She came from Honduras and has been camping for a month with no running water or air conditioning and will have to survive under the watch of the cartel for a month more before she can even come to our immigration courts to ask if she might be considered to enter into the hope that is life in the United States. At each hurdle she passes…she will have to come and go…into and out of the U.S…which will make securing any kind of legal counsel almost impossible.

How we respond to migration has been a question nearly all of recorded human history. The Bible speaks to it extensively. Yet, we still have not come to any simple answers. Those of us who visited the border are being asked by Texas Impact to now go with them to Washington, D.C. to share with legislators what we have seen and learned.

I will be in our nation’s capital on September 24 & 25. In addition to bringing my own reflections and witness, I would also be honored to bring yours. There will be paper and some options for form letters for your reference in the Narthex on September 15 & 22. Whatever you feel called to share or ask, I will bring with me.

It is complex to engage in matters of public policy from the perspective of our faith. We will not always agree. And yet, Jesus will keep calling us to love our neighbor…not because it is simple…but because we are all beloved children of God. May we be bold to answer that call.

– Pastor Carolyn

     In the past few months we have focused on being God’s Stewards of His Creation, Money, Stuff, Ourselves and our Time and Talents.  This month we focus on a stewardship topic that may not be as straightforward as those in the last few months:  Stewards of Relationships.  When we think about the full circle of stewardship, we usually focus on what that includes and not usually who it includes.  We all have MANY relationships in our lives: family, congregation, community and neighbors just to name a few.  All of these relationships revolve around people and how we share the good news with them as well as receive His blessings from them.  God uses these people in our lives to teach, challenge, encourage and love us!  Likewise, we need to share everything God has taught us with all those we have relationships with. 

     Jesus lays it all out for us quite clearly in Matthew 22: 37-40 when he is asked by the Pharisee’s what the greatest commandment is.  His response: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.  This is the first and greatest commandment.  And the second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself.”   All people we come in contact with are our neighbors in Christ; we should always try to love them, just as Christ shares His abundant love with us!

     God commands us to love others but He also gives us the ability to do it!  When we attempt to love others, we can be confident that the skill comes from God.  This Bible passage from 1 John 4:7-12 shows how we can better love others:  ^“Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God.  Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.  This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him.   This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.   Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.   No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us.”

     But how do we do this in all of our relationships?  After all we are human and some relationships are much easier than others.  Here are some ideas on how we can be better stewards in ALL of our relationships, not just the ones that are “easy”:

• Pray for God’s help – He created us in His own image and wants us to enjoy His creation together. Ask God for the strength to accept others as they are.  Ask the Holy Spirit to help us stop judging others.
• Make an investment in yourself and others – Carefully consider your current relationships and what you can change in your life to make things better for yourself and others. It takes ample time and energy to get to know the people in your life, so make a commitment that you will follow through and end up making an impact in their lives.
• Use your gifts – God has given us all unique gifts. Think about how you can use these gifts to be a better steward with those around you.  For example, volunteering is a wonderful way to create new relationships and help out others in need.
• Use Christ as an example – We all need to deal with some people that we don’t get along with. Jesus had to do the same thing, but He treated them ALL with equal love.  Learn to forgive other’s trespasses against you and you will become a better steward in those difficult relationships.

     In the end, relationships are an essential part of human flourishing!  Without strong, durable and substantial relationships, we cannot achieve God’s lofty goals for us.  How will you use the “people skills” that God has given you to share His love with others?  How can this idea change the way you love God, others and yourself?

     For more ideas about being Stewards of Relationships, come to our Stewardship Community Connections cluster on Sunday, September 22.