Stewardship is more than just pledge drives and annual campaigns, or even the use of time and talents. Indeed, it is nothing less than the grateful response of God’s people to the abundant love and freely given gifts of God in the glory of Creation, the humility of incarnation, and the unearned favor of grace. Stewardship is how we say thank you to God all year round.
And yet, our yearly pledge drives and capital campaigns often look more like bank transactions than gratitude. When we cloak our appeals in transactional language, we often miss golden opportunities to help parishioners strengthen those spiritual connections that separate giving back to God from merely giving.
Here are a few ways we can help parishioners grow spiritually by focusing on grateful giving:
- Change the way we speak about stewardship in our preaching and our appeals, emphasizing God’s grace and avoiding words that sound like obligation and duty.
- Frame appeals as participation in God’s work.
- Ask parishioners to share their stories of what God/Church means to them.
- Send thank you’s throughout the year for their support without further appeals.
- Remind them that Eucharist is called “The Great Thanksgiving” for a reason.
- Suggest gratitude as a spiritual practice through journaling, a blessing wall, or a reflective moment at the end of meetings.
In the words of Maya Angelou, “Let Gratitude be the pillow upon which you kneel to say your nightly prayer.”
This article was submitted by the Rev. Anita Philbrick, deacon at St. Thomas a Becket in Cassville and St. Stephen’s in Monett.
