Dear friends in Christ,
From the day I came to St. Martin-in-the Fields to be interviewed, I have been swept off my feet by what a treasure this place is in God’s kingdom.
There are going to be many things we need to do during this period of transition which you will be hearing more about. One of those will be to look at what we mean by stewardship and go from seeing it as simply fundraising to a lifestyle. Let me begin by asking you this question:
What if you opened an appeal letter from St. Martin in-the-Fields and, instead of the word GIVE, you read the word RECEIVE?
What if during St. Martin in-the-Fields stewardship drive this year, instead of asking you to list all the ways you could give, we asked you to write down all you have received?
Would you list the people with whom you share your life? Your health, your work, your home, your schools, your freedom?
Would you think about your faith? The preaching, the teaching, the healing and comforting, the baptizing and rising, the community celebrating God’s greatest gift of all?
Stewardship is gratitude – our humble, grateful recognition that everything we have is a pure gift from God. When you see it that way, Stewardship is a given. It’s just giving thanks for all we have received.
As you contemplate and pray over what you have been given and what you will be giving back to God, remember that stewardship is more than a duty: it is a thankful response to God’s graciousness to us.
This is your act of Thanks-living! Every one of us needs ways to say thanks to the God who is the source of all that we are and all that we have. The question for us is not “how much of what I have been given does God demand?” but “how much of all God has given to me do I have any right to keep for myself?”
The Rev. Mike Wallens
Interim Rector