Stewardship & Finance Committee
St John Chrysostom writes, “The Church is a community made up of souls of us men and cannot be built by stone or mortar, but must be built by the spiritual growth of its members into the full reality of Jesus Christ.”
What is Stewardship?
“Every good and perfect gift comes from above.” (James 1:17)
In Oriented Leadership (a book on Orthodox Christian leadership), Stewardship is defined as ‘the call of the faithful to share willingly the gifts that God has bestowed on them, including sharing these gifts for God’s work. Stewardship is devotion and service to God and His Church as persons, as families, as a Parish, as an Archdiocese, and as the Church Universal.
God endows each of us with personal gifts, talents and material possessions. Christian Stewardship reminds us that these gifts are not our own; that we have a trusteeship over them and not an ownership. Stewardship means to give a portion back to God, as a direct way of expressing our thanksgiving to Him for these gifts.
An Orthodox Christian Steward is an active participant in the life of the Church and as Stewards, we acknowledge that our time on earth, our talents, opportunities and resources are all gifts from God. Becoming a Steward begins when we believe in God, to whom we give our love, loyalty and trust and act on those beliefs. As Stewards, we affirm that every aspect of our lives comes as a gift from Him. Stewardship calls on the faithful to cheerfully offer back to God a portion of the gifts with which they have been blessed.
Each year Stewards are expected to carefully review their personal circumstances and make a commitment of time, talent, and treasure to support the Parish and her Ministries, which in turn support the National Ministries of the Archdiocese.
Stewardship at St’s Michael & Gabriel
The Stewardship Program at Sts Michael & Gabriel Orthodox Church is a simple, practical and above all, a Christian plan aimed at financing the operations of the Parish and its Ministry Programs. It allows our Parish to plan for priorities and goals by considering the values and gifts of its parishioners. Consequently, our parishioners accept direct responsibility for the financial support and growth of our Parish and its mission. No one member is asked to give a specific amount; there are no dues. All that is asked is that you consider pledging a percentage of what you have received from our Lord, in order to sustain His beloved Church and its ministries. The ideal, which our Stewardship program strives to implement, is based on allowing each individual to give according to their means and conscience. Everyone 18 years of age or older, who is self-supporting and who wants to assume his/her responsibility to their Church, should make a commitment. Your free will Christian Stewardship pledge in support of the Parish is a vital part of advancing the work of Christ and our Orthodox Faith in our Parish and our Archdiocese at large.
For more information on our Stewardship program, please find attached a Question and Answer sheet which addresses important questions about Stewardship and the Annual Stewardship Program in our parish.
Q & A _Stewardship commonly asked questions
For more information about how to pledge towards the operations of Sts Michael & Gabriel Orthodox Church, please refer to the Stewardship Pledge Form below.
A Word of Thanks
The Lord’s work at Saints Michael and Gabriel Orthodox Church has been made possible with the generous support of our Parishioners and we would like to take this opportunity to thank our Parishioners who have worked tirelessly and supported our Parish with their time, talents and treasures over the years. Thank You.
For more information
Please feel free to contact our Treasurer Marisa Gazaleh on treasurer@smg.org.au or one of the members of our Stewardship Committee.
Acknowledgement
Some of the information found above regarding stewardship has been adapted from information found on the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of North America – Stewardship Department resources – http://www.goarch.org/archdiocese/departments/stewardship