Monday, October 29, 2012

Why I Encourage


by Betty Jo Fortune


I have learned from my observations and life experiences that to whom much is given much is expected. I am blessed in ways that I am unable to describe and unable to imagine. That is part of why I cannot exist as part of the human and Christian community without encouraging myself and others to be the best we can and to give as much as we can (within reason).

God’s mercy has given me the foundation and opportunities to be positive in the most adverse situations. I have decided that I must continue to keep the spirit of Christ alive in my heart and in my actions.

I am continuously pushed to remind myself of God’s grace. I am encouraged and most grateful that I am able to share my gifts, as they continue to unfold, whenever and however I can.


On Stewardship


by Daphne Sahlin

A couple of years ago, our stewardship theme was, "It's all about Jesus!"  I mentioned this to my friend Elizabeth, a retired English teacher, who challenged me by asking, "What does that mean? What does that mean to you?”

It means my relationship with Jesus is the most important relationship in my life and encompasses everything. God has given me everything - my very life, abilities, opportunities, free will, good health, and friends, and helped me face challenges and adversity. It is all a gift from God that I did not earn and am not in charge of. I am not the owner of these things, but a steward of all that has been entrusted to me.

I have been extraordinarily blessed and am thankful and grateful for all of God's blessings.
And St Barnabas'...it was here, through Linda, Steve Shepard, Charles Brock, and the many wonderful people of St Barnabas' that my love and knowledge of God has grown and my faith has deepened and strengthened. We strengthen each other in our faith, we learn together, and we lift up each other. But all of this is really through God’s grace and not our action alone. I began to see and recognize that God was at work in the life of the Parish and of the people here, and in my own life. It gives me great joy to be a witness to and participant in all of this.

I love sitting up front as an acolyte and looking out at all of you. I love our passing of the peace and our worship and prayer together. I love that we are people who unabashedly and with joy proclaim our love of God and demonstrate daily our love for each other and our community. All of these things give me great joy. I thank God for you and for his blessings on us.

I have a confession: The first thought that comes to my mind when I hear the word stewardship is a denial of the meaning of the word as commonly understood. I want to say, "but stewardship is not about money!" I think this is because I still feel uncomfortable talking about money.

What I have come to understand is, stewardship is not just about money but it is about everything we do as believers, including what we do with money. We are all stewards. 

And it is all about Jesus.

Why I Teach


by Theresa Merchant

Why do I teach Sunday School and Children’s Chapel? Of all the volunteer opportunities that are available at St. Barnabas, why would I pick this one? I could go on and on with many reason why I teach but I’ll try to narrow it down to a couple important ones.

Being an adult, we tend to see ourselves as being older and wiser than children and for the most part, we are. We’ve gone to school, traveled, made mistakes, and overcome many of life’s obstacles so we have a bigger knowledge base to draw from. When I’m teaching, I get to see that knowledge base building in each child and religion needs to be a big part of that. What they learn during these younger years is the foundation that will stay with them throughout their lives. This foundation, like any, needs to be strong and withstanding so that it will last through the trials and tribulations that they will ultimately encounter as they grow into adulthood. Teaching them the stories in the Bible and about the life of Jesus, helps strengthen that base and prepare them for their journey through life. It’s an honor for me to have the opportunity to be one of these teachers.

I suspect I look at teaching differently than most. For me, it’s an adventure every Sunday, into the Bible, with the children in Sunday School and Children’s Chapel. No matter what story I’m teaching, I always leave with a different perspective than I had going in. The children are amazing and their response to each story always makes me look at it in a different way. It can be challenging but it is always rewarding. Teaching and learning go hand in hand. I may be the teacher but I learn something new from the children every Sunday. 

This is why I teach.

Tuesday, October 2, 2012

Why We Serve - Voices on Stewardship

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.