1 Peter 4:8 - 10 English Standard Version 8 Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins. 9 Show hospitality to one another without grumbling. 10 As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God's varied grace.
We live in a world full of complex information. Sometimes it feels like we are asked to see things as either good or bad. We are asked to be for one idea and against another. But maybe some things can have both good parts and bad parts. We ask you to consider looking at our church life at Trinity with an attitude of Both/And. As examples: We are so blessed that Fr. Dan agreed to stay on with us and to lead our Trinity family into the future. AND that means we had the additional expenses of his salary for twelve months instead of six. And we had not budgeted for that.
Another example is that we are fortunate to have BOTH talented volunteers to lead us in music as we worship AND we have the wonderful skills of a professional musician who can play the organ for us as we worship on Sunday mornings. We value music, AND we know we need to budget for the cost of providing music.
The pandemic has affected attendance at churches all across the world. Attendance is down not just at Trinity but in many churches. Some people never returned to regular attendance in person at churches after Covid. AND yet, we have so many new faces at Trinity week to week. People who have become involved and volunteer.
We do so much for our community, between serving grab and go meals as well as holiday meals, helping people to have clean clothes and providing gifts for families at Christmas time. AND yet, we count on a small number of volunteers to do so much.
Life is full of challenges and obstacles AND it is full of joys and blessings. As we plan our stewardship for our Trinity family for 2025 we want to focus on BOTH.
We want a clear plan of action for next year. We want to accomplish something that makes a difference in the lives of our church members and for the members of the community that surrounds us. In order to have a clear plan of action, we need to have a realistic idea of our expenses for next year as well as our income. We ask people to consider pledging so that our Finance Committee can make a budget that will allow Trinity to continue to advance our ministries.
So often people think about stewardship as begging for money, reminding people of the costs of running a church. And that is true, in part. But it is also about seeing the value of generosity.
Stewardship is about those serious concerns. AND it is about seeing the value of generosity. Not just that we need you and your money. But that people need and want the church to be there for all of us.
Try to remember a time when you were generous. A time that you really went out of your way to help someone. Or a time that you have made a generous donation out of the goodness of your heart. Now, remember how that made you feel. It probably felt pretty good. You may have felt like you made a real difference in someone’s life or in the world.
There is a need for the giver to give because it feels good. It is not only that the church needs to receive. It is BOTH.
The church does need money. And we need volunteers in order for the church to function. AND some people need the church. We need to feel that we are accomplishing something special. We need to feel that our contributions, financial and physical, make a difference. By working together we have more of an impact. We need that. We need to know that we make a difference in the world.
The economy has had an impact on the church. People in many churches are not tithing. The number of people who tithe in the nation is down 40 %. The number of people who pledge to Trinity is also down. But, if we want to see growth in our church, both spiritually and in the number of people who attend we must not focus on the scarcity, but instead shine a spotlight on our abundance. We have an abundance of long time members, who care about this church. We have an abundance of newcomers who also care about Trinity. We have multiple great ministries. We have a gentle, kind, nurturing minister to pastor us. We have meaningful sermons and a congregation who enjoys singing as we worship. We have great camaraderie at Coffee Hour each week. We have volunteers who help to lead worship and who visit our homebound parishioners. We have great people who volunteer to serve in leadership on our vestry. We have many joys and blessings.
If we each focus on the abundance that God has given us. AND if we use those gifts to serve one another, then we will be good stewards of God’s grace.
Sincerely,
Mary, Cindi and Lisa Stewardship Team 24/25 Trinity Church