Seattle Sunburst - Ousley
Stewards' Stirrings 
in the Diocese of Olympia
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4th Sunday after Epiphany  Year C
Welcome to Stewards' Stirrings! 
This is a lectionary resource here in the Episcopal Diocese of Olympia to help point to some stewardship themes in the weekly lectionary to make it easier to preach, teach, study, pray and speak about stewardship throughout the year.

Stewardship resource links and ideas are posted in the right hand column for your stewardship ministries.  You can  send resource requests for me to post here by replying to this email. 
Refrain for Epiphany 4C
Do not be afraid,* 
for I am with you to deliver you.
 
Click Epiphany 4C for a link to this Sunday's readings which include Jeremiah 1:4-10;  Psalm 71:1-6; 1 Corinthians 13:1-13; and Luke 4:21-30.

Sacrifice. Sacrifice is an element of stewardship. There is an old stewardship mantra that says, "Give until it hurts." But I say, "Give until it hurts, then give some more until it feels good." We don't know exactly how Jesus was able to slip through the crowd in Nazareth after he read the kingdom prophecy of Isaiah, but we know he was willing to sacrifice for the sake of the Gospel. Possibly he was able to escape the traps because he was not encumbered by the anxiety that caused his hometown audience's outrage in the first place. this is what I mean by my adage "give until it feels good."
 
There is much to be said about being set free in our world today or escaping, if you will, from all the pressures that come with anxiety of money in our culture. Jesus had just proclaimed through his saying the scripture had been fulfilled within their hearing that he had come to set the oppressed free. In giving until it feels good, we let go of the incarcerating shackles of the anxiety of money and embrace the liberating Good News that Jesus brings to us. We also join in setting the oppressed free through our example, leadership, and sharing of the freedom we have found in sacrificial giving in our own lives. As members of the Body of Christ this is an unselfish act of love that we share with the anxious world around us. Conversely, this is why anxiety about money in our congregations is caustic and most often drives giving down through the tightening grip of oppressive anxiety. But love, the kind that Paul is speaking about to the Corinthians, should drive our actions in this as members of the Body of Christ.  After all, if love is not of Christ then what is it? And what is the Body of Christ if it is not about love?
Giving is one way we express our love to God. And giving sacrificially until it feels good helps us to proclaim the power of God's kingdom in our lives and in the world, expressing God's love for the world. In our reading from Jeremiah we hear of the apprehension of the servant, apprehension that is rooted in a theology of scarcity of one's own gifts to serve God in the world. But this servant is urged to give of himself (sacrificially) and encouraged that God will be with him. This sentiment is echoed in Psalm 71, too. Jeremiah is not unlike most of us. He is reluctant to go against the flow of cultural and social norms, even though he knows his work is holy. But he is faithful and does give of himself and persevere. And Jesus gives us the example of giving of himself, boldly in the face of sure persecution. 

Jesus and Jeremiah are stewards of God's love and stewards of God's message giving themselves for this purpose. Jesus even displays the peace that pass understanding while he hangs on the Cross, asking for his executioners to be forgiven. This type of peace comes only in a heart that has been set free from the demands of this world through a deep abiding relationship with God, knowing that God is the only source of strength and redemption, and the God offers that to us all unconditionally. 
 
So give until it hurts, then give more. Then, you'll feel good.

Grace to you,
Lance  

The Rev. Canon Lance Ousley 
Canon for Stewardship and Development
The Episcopal Diocese of Olympia
1551 10th Ave E.
Seattle, WA  98102


The Rev. Canon Lance Ousley
STEWARDSHIP
RESOURCES and
QUICK LINKS


Simple Changes: 
A Lenten Discipline
for Food and Faith

The problems of climate change, global hunger, and factory farms can seem overwhelming. Yet some of the most important decisions we make for our planet - our daily choices about food - are the ones within our most immediate and personal control. 

For Lent, we invite individuals and congregations to participate in a Lenten discipline we developed here in our Diocese last year that is focused on making choices about food that reflect our faith and our concern for the planet, our health, and the animals that share our earthly home.

By choosing to make simple, sustainable changes, each of us can make a significant difference to the health of our planet. When our efforts are combined, we can accomplish great things and walk more closely in our faith.
 
This Lenten discipline is provided through a web resource for each week during Lent.  
Each week's theme includes an invitation that challenges us to move into simple changes that can make a difference.  

We are asked to take simple steps daily to accept that invitation and to reflect on the meaning of our choices.  

Each Sunday there is 
a way for congregations to hold more sustainable coffee hours. 
Videos and readings are suggested for each week.

Click here for a link to the
resource.  
 
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 Interested in neutralizing some of your 
Carbon Footprint?
 
 
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Want to make a Stock Gift to your Congregation in the Diocese of Olympia?

Here is a link to our
Instructions for Stock Gift Transfers
in the 
Diocese of Olympia, including a sample letter to the broker and a detailed explanation of gift valuation.*