1 Timothy 6:18-19 NRSVA
Faith-filled Generosity – Annual Stewardship Campaign: On Sunday, October 18, 2020 we launched our Annual Stewardship Campaign. On Sunday, November 29, 2020 we will have the in-gathering and blessing of pledges. Please note, due to the suspension of indoor worship, we are extending the date of the ingathering by one week. Please return your pledge cards by mailing them to the parish office at 232 Wyoming Ave., Scranton, PA 18503.
The program we are using this year is an ongoing year-long program offered through The Episcopal Network for Stewardship (TENS). TENS has chosen “Faith-filled Generosity as the theme for 2020.
The TENS theme for 2020/21 is a call to each one of us to be “generous and ready to share” so that our futures are secure and our lives are worth living. Eugene Peterson writes in The Message:
“Tell them to go after God, who piles on all the riches we could ever manage — to do good, to be rich in helping others, to be extravagantly generous. If they do that, they’ll build a treasury that will last, gaining life that is truly life.”
During this pledge drive, each of us is asked to make as generous a financial pledge, as able, for the coming year. The pandemic has made this a challenging year and we are aware that many are impacted in unimagined ways. Thanks to each one of you doing your part in your homes, workplaces, schools, neighborhoods, families, and here in our church.
— Mother Barnes and The Stewardship Committee
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A Letter on Stewardship from Mother Barnes
Like good stewards of the manifold grace of God, serve one another
with whatever gift each of you has received. – 1 Peter 4:10
October 17, 2020
Dear Beloved in Christ,
When we set “Faith-Filled Generosity” as the theme for this year’s stewardship campaign, none of us could have known what this year would be like. I need not remind you of the disruptions, losses, and anxieties that this year has brought to our communities, for we are all still living with the impacts. I can say, however, that although the coronavirus pandemic has tested our resolve, it has not tested our faith. We are stronger, more resilient, and more connected than we have ever been as a Church and as a community of neighbors. Thank you. Thanks to each one of you doing your part in your homes, workplaces, schools, neighborhoods, families, and here in our church.
Our stewardship and our mission this year have been focused on service. As we experienced some weeks of not being able to gather in person, the usual focus on weekly worship was spread throughout the week as we found ways to gather virtually, taking more time to pray for each other’s needs and serve our communities. You used this time to discover, hone, and put to use the gifts you have received from our Creator God and to serve one another.
I have witnessed the countless ways that you have used your resources for the mission of the Church and to help each other. I have found it inspiring and hopeful as we plan our work together in 2021. This coming year, we will explore the way that our generosity is inspired by our faith, how we are formed and led into relationship with each other as we share our gifts with the world. This is what we mean by “Faith-Filled Generosity.”
How will you discover and use the gifts you have been given to help our church this year? How will you hear the Gospel call to seek and serve Christ in all people, and respond with generosity? As I look at each family, each individual in our community, I realize that we are the stewards of God’s manifold grace because we give to the world from what we have received.
This year, your stewardship committee will be sending you a packet with your pledge card and an appeal. I invite you to receive this with grace and prayer as you consider how you will share with God and God’s Church from what you have received.
In the spirit of generosity and love,
Mother Barnes