A message from Stacey

Dear friends,

November is stewardship time at First United Methodist Church. That means it’s a time when your leaders think about what programs, ministries and mission we will support in the year to come. And perhaps lost in the immediate concerns is the deeper and more personal aspect of stewardship and giving – the spiritual impact that our decisions about giving have on each one of us. 

The Bible tells us that generosity is one of the ‘fruits of the Spirit,” inextricably connected with other aspects of living as a follower of Jesus. I find that the more I live what others call a “Jesus lifestyle,” the more I receive the fruit – generosity. It’s a part of living out our faith in our daily lives. 

As I have shared before, Stewart and I began our journey towards thing many years ago. Stewart pastored what we call a “two point charge” – two small congregations in Connecticut. As a part of a capital campaign for building improvements, one of those churches used a specialist in giving and fund raising, who came and spoke to Stewart and me in our parsonage in Bolton, CT about our giving. Our finances at the me were tight: we had a toddler and another on the way; I was working 15 hours a week at a church in East Hartford; and Stewart was making the conference designated minimum salary. But our visitor, older and wiser, told us that, if we waited until we were more secure to start tithing, we might never get there, which I now understand to be true. We began a journey towards tithing, increasing each year the percentage of our income which we gave to the church and to other organizations (faith based and others) which we believed were doing the work of God in the world. (You do believe, don’t you, that God is at work in many ways, not just the church?). That early start is what makes it possible today for us to give 10%, and sometimes more. 

This season, we invite you to join us and others at FUMC on the road to becoming tithers. Just as I encourage you to go deeper in your faith in other ways, to be good stewards of your me and your God-given talents, so I urge to find the joy of giving generously. 

In Christ,

Stacey