Called to be Stewards of Our Lives!

In hunting for articles about being "Stewards of Relationships", I landed on the below information from the website of a church in the Diocese of Olympia. I love the broad definitions of faithful stewardship and therefore am sharing it with you. Huge thanks to the Rev. Andrea McMillan for her work which so echoes my thoughts.

Christian Stewardship is:

• the proper and generous use of our time, talent and money;
• all that we do with our lives
• about joyfully returning to God a portion of all the gifts which God has so generously showered upon us

"We are stewards of our lives "- by the Rev. Andrea McMillin

It is tempting to think that Stewardship is 'just' about money. Being a steward, though, is an essential part of being human. We care for each other, our lives, our possessions. Being a Christian steward, we understand that all of our lives are held in the hands of God. We understand that all of creation is held in the hands of God. All of this - our life, our love, our possessions - it is sort of 'on loan' for us to care for and nurture, and to hand on to the next generations. We have been given so much to care for ... we are:

Stewards of time - How you live your hours is how you live your days, how you live your days, is how you live your life. Never underestimate the power of ten minutes. Work, play, mission, ministry, and Sabbath rest are all related parts of time stewardship.

Stewards of relationships - We are always cultivating relationships with others. Do you spend intentional time and energy cultivating relationships with those who are most important to you? What does this say about who you value, and why?

Stewards of community - We each live in several communities: civic, religious, family, social. Our action and voice determines the health of our communities. How do you participate in the formation, sustaining, and mission of communities?

Stewards of money & material wealth - How you manage your money reveals your values. Your values direct your spending, sharing, and saving. This includes household budget, charitable giving, and retirement, education and other savings. Some of us maintain homes or businesses, and we are stewards of the material things in those spaces. All of us should have a will, directing the allocation of our material wealth after we die.

Stewards of God's creation - We are all participating at all times in the stewardship of creation. What is your impact? Your mind and body are a part of God's creation: what kind of steward are you in taking care of the gifts of your intellect, physical strength, health, and spiritual wellbeing?

The annual pledge campaign in our church is just one part of the larger stewardship picture. Your pledge goes to the operating budget of Grace Church: our staff salaries, utilities, building, outreach support, worship, pastoral care, and much more. Mission drives this pledge campaign - we commit financially to the church in order to support the church's mission in the wider world. This happens as we worship together, strengthen each other as Disciples of Christ in the world, and reach out to the needs of the wider community, where the need is greatest.

-Shawn

shawnschreiner@sbcglobal.net

The 175th Annual Convention of the Diocese of Chicago will take place on Friday, November 16 and Saturday, November 17 at the Westin Lombard Yorktown Center in Lombard.

The theme of this year's convention is "Fierce Conversations for the Future Church."

The staff and delegates of Grace will be in attendance; the parish offices are closed this Friday.

Read resolutions to be considered at Convention at this link.

Read reports to be received by Convention at this link.

Our worship together is one of the most important aspects of our life as a community of God.  Through worship, we celebrate the love of God as a community, lift our voices together in prayer, remind one another that true discipleship consists mostly in what we do outside these doors, and nurture the spiritual lives of all of our members-sharing and receiving spiritual food to nourish us for the work each of us does in the world.

This new Church year marks the formation of a new committee at Grace devoted to worship.  As Rector, Shawn will be the chair of the committee, and she has asked Charles Wells and Linda Coberly to serve as vice-chairs.  We plan to keep this committee small, to ensure its productivity-no more than 10 people (including chair and vice-chairs)-and it will include parishioners from both services, as well as Dennis Northway in his role as Parish Musician.  Shawn, Charles, and Linda have already had several discussions about the mission and role of the Worship Committee, to create a tentative framework for the work that will soon begin.   

In the beginning, the Worship Committee will meet roughly twice a month (starting in January) to study the role of worship, our Episcopal heritage of common prayer, the ancient rituals on which our liturgy is built, and ways to refine, renew, and enrich our worship services today, within the framework of our rich liturgical tradition.  The Committee's mission will be three-fold:

• To provide consultation and input to Shawn, Jon, Dennis and Douglas as they plan services with the goal of richly capturing and celebrating each of the traditional seasons of the church year. 
• More broadly, to engage in conversation about how to renew and deepen our worship life and serve the needs of our present and future diverse congregants-including potentially by supplementing our current services with additional gatherings on Sundays or during the week.
• To promote formation activities relating to liturgy and worship-which may include committee members leading study or discussion sessions, sharing reading materials, and writing regular pieces in Items about specific aspects of the services, liturgical choices, music choices, and so on.

Regular meetings will begin in January.  Please let Shawn, Charles, or Linda know if you are interested in serving on the committee.  The wardens, Shawn, Linda, and Charles will be meeting in December to decide on the committee's initial membership and to make sure that it reflects a cross-section of our parish.

Thank you for your care and devotion to Grace Church!

Shawn Schreiner, Chair

Linda Coberly, Vice-Chair

Charles Wells, Vice-Chair

Reminder: A special UTO collection will be held this Sunday, November 18th. You can pick up a UTO envelope in the back of church that morning.  Please make your check payable to UTO or United Thank Offering. 

WORKING ON YOUR CHRISTMAS SHOPPING LIST?
PLEASE DON'T FORGET TO ADD

ONE MORE SPECIAL NAME ...

Through the Cathedral Shelter Christmas Basket program, Grace Church will supply Christmas gifts and food for over 50 individuals this year. Grace will be providing gifts as well as Jewel gift cards for these families and seniors. The Outreach Committee has generously offered to purchase the Jewel cards, so those participating in the program need only purchase gifts.    

Thank you in advance for your support of this very important program!

Mystick Krewe of LAFF's
Fourth Annual PADS Fundraiser

To Benefit PADS (Public Action to Deliver Shelter) at Grace Episcopal Church

OPEN TO THE PUBLIC!!!

Please mark your calendar for this fun, family-friendly event.

Saturday,December 8th

4:00 p.m. - 8 p.m.

Grace Episcopal Church Parish Hall

924 Lake Street, Oak Park

At the door, donations of $5.00 per person, with a cap of $20 per family

Food and Beverages (wine and beer)

Great Raffle Prizes!!!!!!!!!

Face painting and Children's Costume Corner

Live music by
BS Brass Band - bsbrass.com

Sponsored by the Mystick Krewe of Laff Social Aid and Pleasure Club   (Facebook - Mystick Krewe of Laff or www.mystickkreweoflaff.org)

For more information about West Suburban PADS - www.westsuburbanpads.org

Please bring donations large men's coats and men's socks, gloves, scarves and new underwear

For more information: rbtaxman@hotmail.com or kjmensch@yahoo.com