I'm always searching for a good definition of the word stewardship. Too often we limit the use of that word to one particular purpose ? giving our money. And, too often we limit the pronouncement of the task of stewardship to one particular time of the year. Both limitations we put on stewardship cause us to miss out on the richness of the word and blessing of understanding it.

Our Confession of Faith says the following about stewardship: " Christian stewardship acknowledges that all of life and creation is a trust from God, to be used for God' glory and service ... The motive for Christian stewardship is gratitude for God's abundant love and mercy, accompanied by the desire to share all of God's good gifts with others ... Giving to and through the church is the privilege of every believer. Tithing as a scriptural guide for giving, is an adventure of faith and a rich and rewarding practice. The tither not only experiences the grace of God but even the grace of sharing ( C of F, 6.10, 6. 11, 6. 13, pp. 19, 20 ).

All of those words are good, proper instruction on what stewardship means to the followers of Jesus. They encompass not only the annual giving campaigns that churches develop but also the day to day responsibility that we have for the use of the resources of the earth and the gifts which God has gifted to God's people for the purpose of peace, happiness, and wholeness in God's kingdom.

This week the church membership will be receiving a packet that is specifically related to the giving of money to the program and ministry of the church. The responses received will be used to prepare the budget for the upcoming year's ministry. Your response is important. Vital. Your participation in giving is important to your continued growth as a servant of Jesus Christ. Because we understand stewardship to embrace more than our money, in the next month you will also be asked to complete a Time and Talent Survey. We want all of our people and all of their gifts to find place and purpose. We want to have a year round, comprehensive, healthy, theologically correct understanding of what it means to be stewards of God's creation and God's gifts.

In my search for a good definition of stewardship, I found this. See if it makes sense to you. These are Roswell C. Long's words, " Stewardship is the acceptance from God of personal responsibility for all of life and life's affairs. "

Grace and peace