"Honoring Our Past, Building Our Future"

Reflections on a Stewardship Prayer  
 

Open, O Lord, the eyes of all people to behold they gracious hand in all thy works, that , rejoicing in thy whole creation, we may honor thee with our substance and be faithful stewards of thy bounty, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen (adapted from the Book of Common Prayer, page 329)

This prayer really helps illustrate my experience in Stewardship. The ability to "behold the Lord's gracious hand and to be faithful stewards of thy bounty" is something that my job has helped me experience personally. I lead a non-profit that works with families in great need. We help people overcome barriers and gain needed skills, which lead to jobs that enable them to support their families. The need for our services often seems endless, but the resources needed to provide these services often feels quite finite. There have been times I worried that we might not be able to find the resources to continue meeting the needs of the community we serve. Despite these concerns we have moved forward with plans on nothing more than faith and belief in the Lord's gracious hand in our work. This faith has time and time again helped us make plans, accomplish them and serve the families that are in need. We work daily to be good stewards of the Lord's bounty and through his grace we have continued to meet the needs of the families we serve.

I have also seen a similar bounty at Saint Paul's. From our food pantry, to our involvement with the local schools, to the wonderful fellowship we have every Sunday, his gracious hand touches us in so many ways. It is through these acts that I have become more fully aware of the importance of responding to his generosity. While there is great need, there is also great supply. We must not focus on scarcity, but should more accurately be focused on his bounty. In my daily work and in our church home of Saint Paul's, I have seen it for myself. I suspect we all have similar experiences that further show us the love of God. Stewardship is simply a grateful response to the incredible gifts that we have been given. When we consider the abundance of what we have been given, how can we not feel the need to share?  

When we give of our time, talent and treasure we are simply returning a portion of the bounty we have been given. I cannot think of a better way to respond to the fact that all we are, and all we have, is a gift from God.  

David A. Jackson