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Stewardship Sunday: Spiritual Giving
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by Gary Chaussee
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"I will give thanks to the Lord with my whole heart"
-Psalm 111:1
The word, stewardship, simply means to manage someone else's property. For Christians, as Scripture proclaims, everything belongs to God, we manage the property of our Lord. Since everything belongs to Christ, we need to have the attitude and view that our things are His things, our stuff is His stuff, that all we have now, all we have lost, all we will have, is His, including our very bodies and spiritual gifts. We are mere lessees of the property, money, relationships, talents, time, and even our lives. This means that we and all that we have are not really ours to begin with. They belong to God. So it is our duty to learn how to be responsible stewards of our Lord's resources entrusted to our care. How then do we decide what we should give?
I read once something that put this in perspective for me personally. "It is only with the heart that one can see rightly. What is essential is invisible to the eye." This captures what I believe to be at the heart of being a follower of Christ: learning to see with our hearts. When we see with our heart we see with God's perspective. Isn't the role of our church to serve as a place where we encounter Christ and to learn to see as God sees?
God gives with abandon. Each of us possesses gifts and resources that God has lavished upon us. When we see with our hearts we realize that our hearts are filled to overflowing. We cannot help but respond as the psalmist did: giving thanks with our whole heart.
A few years ago I attended a workshop on stewardship where I met Reverend Sallie Shippen, retired, from St.Marks in Medford, Oregon. To this day I haven't heard a better definition of stewardship than hers:
"Stewardship is living our lives so that we are always saying thank you to God."
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This Sunday
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September 21st
The Nineteenth Sunday after Pentecost (Proper 20)
Grant us, Lord, not to be anxious about earthly
things, but to love things heavenly; and even now, while we are placed
among things that are passing away, to hold fast to those that shall
endure; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you
and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
8am: Holy Eucharist
Our early service is unaccompanied by music and usually lasts about 50 minutes. Coffee and fellowship are offered before the service begins in the parish hall, while the sanctuary is available for quiet prayer. Another coffee hour follows the service.
10am: Sunday School takes place during the first part of our 10am service. The children join the congregation at the peace and share with the whole community in Eucharist.
10am: Holy Eucharist
This Eucharistic service is accompanied by Organ and includes congregational hymns and service music. During the summer months our choir is on sabbatical and various musical offerings will be made during the liturgy. A coffee hour for kids and adults follows the service.
11:30am: Music rehearsals
Following the worship services, our musical groups gather to prepare for the next weeks' offerings.
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Next Week at Christ Church
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September 22nd through 27th
Monday
Cornerstone Office Closed
Tuesday
Bible Study, 7pm, Conference Room
Wednesday
Eucharist, 12:05pm, Sanctuary
Liturgy Commission, 7:15pm, Upper Room
Thursday
Men's Group, 7pm, The Powerhouse
Saturday
Gibbs/Ickes Wedding, 6pm, Sanctuary
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Announcements
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Upcoming Events
This evening (Friday the 26th) at 7:00pm, Jieun Kim Newland
will perform on the organ at Mercer Island Presbyterian Church. The
concert is free and open to all. The Youth Cafe is making a field trip
for this event; contact Charlie Clayton for additional details.
The Tuesday Evening Bible Study meets for the final time this week. We'll be finishing off our reading of the book of Acts. The group will take a break for a few weeks while Fr. Ben is away. Stay tuned for our next meeting time and text!
The Liturgy Commission meets this Wednesday, October 1st, at 7:15pm in The Upper Room.
The Men's Group meets this coming Thursday, at 7pm, at The Powerhouse restaurant.
Sign up for the Women's Retreat, which takes place on October 17th through 19th at St. Andrew's House. A sheet for sign ups along with more information is on the Welcome table in the Parish Hall. Please contact Vickey Clayton at 453-7663 with questions.
General Announcements
September is 'canned fruits and veggies' month for the Food Bank Thank you for sharing your blessings with those less fortunate!
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Special Days in October
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Birthdays
1-Elsa Woodard, Tyler Simson
2-Sheri Flies
6-Nancy Wilson, Ronan Garcia
11-Pat Loffer
15-Bill Woodard
16-Marjorie Tedrick
17-Len Barrett
20-Jim Reilly
21-Mike Barry, Cailin Jensen Bary
22-Ann Saunderson
23-Jan Barrett
24-Anna Hager
27-Oscar Lindahl
28-Laura Dawson
Anniversaries
7-Russ and Deb Blount
15-Ken and Jean Keener
16-Paul and Alyse Russell
23-Jack and Pat Hertzog, Charlie and Vickey Clayton
28-Bob and Kathi Schultz
Congratulations and Happy Birthdays!
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Questions? Comments? More Information?
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