Gil Baldwin:
I thank God for the opportunity to serve, through contributions of time, talent, and treasure. Many times these opportunities have taken the form of someone calling on me to do something; occasionally something I didn’t really think I could do. There have been times when I heard about a need, and I just felt “Hey, I could do that!” By responding, I learned something new, both about myself and about my fellow parishioners, along the way strengthening my faith and forming new relationships. I feel like my talents include organization, diligence, and perseverance. As I’ve contributed my time and effort, I’ve given a lot of thought and prayers about how to lead others to show forth their talents.
Conscious efforts have been made to encourage people to get involved, and to develop new leaders in our church. Here at St. Barnabas’ we have an abundance of talent, but often we feel pressed for time. One way to deal with that is to commit yourself to a goal, and then persevere in devoting some time each day to reaching that goal. By the diligent application of our talents, great things will be accomplished.
Carolyn Lilienthal:
Stewardship has evolved for me over the years. When my family and I arrived at St. Barnabas’, I was a stay-at-home-mom. We learned about stewardship in the fall campaign. We felt compelled to give to
support our church; but nowhere near what I would have liked to have given. But there was another option: time and talent.
So I joined Altar Guild, WOSB, the vestry, etc. Now at an older age, I can give more monetarily as I “slow down” in talent and energy. I do think it is necessary to do all three as they complement each other. It certainly gives me an immense pleasure.
