Messenger The
Invites You to Explore Our Life and Ministries at St. James Episcopal Church
Volume 98, Number 10
Service Schedule October 2014 Sundays
7:30 a.m. Holy Eucharist, Rite I 9:00 a.m. Holy Eucharist, Rite II* 9:00 a.m. As You Are Service* 10:00 a.m. Christian Formation for all ages and Coffee Hour* 11:00 a.m. Holy Eucharist, Rite II* 5:00 p.m. Holy Eucharist, Rite II *Nursery available
Weekdays Mondays 8:15 a.m. Day School Morning Prayer Wednesdays Noon Holy Eucharist, Rite II with Healing Prayers (Chapel) Fridays (except October 17) 8:15 a.m. Day School Eucharist
www.stjamesbr.org
225-387-5141 • Fax 225-387-1443 • www.stjamesbr.org
October 2014
Stewardship 2015 By Helen Campbell, Director of Stewardship and Planned Giving This year’s Stewardship Steering Committee — Nancy and Ralph Hubbard, Julie and Andy McCall, and Rieta and Ben Reiser — is hard at work preparing for our Every Member Canvass. Brochures and letters have been mailed to the parish and Stewardship Minutes are being prepared for the Sunday services. The Vestry and Associate Vestry have already started to lead the way by making their 2015 pledges. Stewardship is our most important ministry, and perhaps the most misunderstood. Some people think it is all about money. Others think it means only time, talent and treasure. Some wonder if it is just another word for fundraising or tithing. In reality, “stewardship” is the word that describes our entire relationship with God. God loved and trusted us so much that he made us his stewards. Our challenge is to strive to be good stewards by: • Recognizing that everything we have is a gift from God. • Taking time to be grateful for the gifts that God has given us. • Realizing that God gives each of us all we need, plus enough to share. • Turning to the Holy Spirit for guidance in sharing our gifts as God intended. Over the coming weeks, you will hear from our clergy and from your fellow parishioners. You will learn that stewardship is the main work of the church. Our worship, our volunteering, our praying, and our giving within the church provide the support that we need to engage in the often difficult and lonely tasks of proclaiming the good news, loving our neighbors, and striving for justice and peace, both within ourselves and in the greater world. Stewardship is our thankful response to God’s graciousness to us. Stewardship is an adventure. It is an invitation to offer our gifts. It is a challenge to refocus our lives by designing our budgets toward sacrificial giving. Help the Stewardship Committee work toward a successful Every Member Canvass; one in which we reach out to our fellow parishioners, increase our circle of relationships and joyfully “build up the body of Christ” at St. James Episcopal Church.
Stewardship Steering Committee: (back row) Nancy & Ralph Hubbard,
Julie & Andy McCall
(front row) Rieta & Ben Reiser