Stewardship & Giving
In the beginning of creation, we read of God charging Adam and Eve to act as good stewards of creation, a call we still honor as we strive to make the best use of all the gifts we receive in our lives. In the time, talent and treasure each of us has, we seek to find balance among the competing needs of our usual work and vocation, time for rest and refreshment, and time for the care of others.
As single grains of wheat are joined together to create bread that nourishes those who eat it, when we share our resources with the parish community, we are joined together to enrich and nourish those around us and beyond the walls of All Souls. Our parish budget is supported by the giving of our members, pledged each fall for the coming year.
We are Blessed to be a Blessing: Letters from our Interim Rector and Senior Warden
All that we need, we already have in our parish family. God’s blessing flow to us in many forms: love, support, time, money and talent. God has created us with this bountiful love and has asked us to work together to be a blessing, to share what has been given to us so much that “the one who had much did not have too much and the one who had little did not have too little.” 2 Corinthians 8:15
Dear Friends and Companions in Christ,
Two Sundays ago in an excellent sermon Sherry Markwart and Kristin Krantz preached, Kristin made this very profound observation:
The idea of relationship is the unspoken foundation of our stewardship theme this year. We are blessed to be a blessing. When we say this, we are claiming our relationship with God as the source of all that we are and that we have – the source of blessing in our lives. Our call, in fact our need, to extend that blessing beyond our selves and into wider circles—to be a blessing within this parish and out in the world—is our response to the love given to us. It is an expression that calls us to test our hearts at All Souls Parish.
Those of us who call All Souls our spiritual home know we are blessed by this very alive, involved, caring, growing Christian community. Even those who are viewed as outcasts in Berkeley know that this community is special.
Recently a parishioner told me about one of our guests for the monthly Open Door Dinner who came early and attended the 10 am service. When she saw that it was time for the offering, she reached into her tattered coat and took out all the coins she had in her pocket and placed them in the offering plate. That act of amazing generosity was an act of faith and love on her part.
If this woman who had so little can give so selflessly, can we who have been so richly blessed by God find it within ourselves to give generously in thanksgiving and joy?
Please read all the materials that our Stewardship Committee has prepared for you. If you have any questions about budgets or programs, ask them. Most of all pray about our life and ministry together and then fill out your pledge card and let it be your full response to the blessings in your life.
Our celebration of All Saints/All Souls Sunday, November 6, will be joyous as we express our gratitude for the lives of those who have been saints in our lives. In addition we will give thanks for the over seven years trumpeter James Tinsley has blessed us with his magnificent talent and we will bid him new blessings in his move to Ohio. During the service we will also be invited to place our 2012 pledge upon the altar in thanksgiving for our having been blessed to be a blessing.
May the abundant love of God continue to surround you this day and forever more.
Faithfully,
The Very Rev. Donald G. Brown
Interim Rector, All Souls Parish
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Dear Fellow Parishioners,
Count your many blessings! How many of us have heard this phrase uttered – most commonly in summing up a conversation about another’s misfortune? What if we simply paused to take stock of our many blessings without the prompting of a tragedy? And what if – from this place of abundance – we pass along these blessing to others? After charging Abraham to leave his country, his family and his home for a new land, God promises to bless Abraham, so that “all the families of the earth will be blessed through you.” Just as with Abraham, God blesses us so that we may be a blessing to others.
I have had the privilege to serve as Sr. Warden this past year, and through this role have had my eyes opened to the countless ways that you all serve both within and beyond our parish community. I have seen our parish faithfully develop the three areas of ministry called out by the Vestry two years ago: Pastoral Care, Small Groups, and Youth. As we approach the end of 2011, it is affirming to witness the great progress in these areas: Stephen Ministry is running strong and is moving beyond our walls with outreach in the community; four new small groups were launched this fall; and we called a half-time Director of Youth Ministry to join our staff. Through our time and our gifts we have fostered these ministries into being, yet we all know that funds are needed to do this work, especially in sustaining a new staff member while supporting our current staff.
I’d like to focus for a moment on the Director of Youth Ministries position. A few statistics will clearly set the stage for what is happening at All Souls. Our children (0-11) and youth (12-18) enrollment jumped from 89 to 111 this past year – a 25% increase! The youth attending the transformative mission trip to the Lakota Native Americans in South Dakota doubled from 6 in 2010 to 12 in 2011. In the spring of 2011, four youth committed to the Confirm Not Conform discernment process and all chose to be confirmed. For the first time, we offered programming for middle school youth attending our fall retreat at the Bishop’s Ranch. Folks, things are happening at All Souls!
May we all build on this exciting momentum, and grow together through the intentional and loving ways we share our abundant blessings!
Sincerely,
Michelle Barger
Senior Warden