Last month I taught a workshop at the Diocesan Resource Day on year-round stewardship.  I used this text from Romans to begin the time together.  It seems fitting not just for stewardship, but for our life together as disciples.  Everything about our lives (even, or perhaps especially, the very ordinary) can be an offering to God.  If your life is like mine, that can be pretty hard to believe.  But it is true.  In response to all that God has done for us, we are invited to give our lives back to God.  In fact, a few verses later, Paul goes on to say that "each of us finds our meaning and function as a part of his body," that is the body of Christ.  As a result we are to "just go ahead and be what were made to be."  You and I are made to be offerings to God.

We are approaching the time of year where we begin to budget for 2009 and receive good faith pledges towards that budget.  It is hard to talk about pledging and the budget and to keep in mind that our stewardship is about much more than money.  But we must try, because God's invitation is to present our whole lives as offerings.  Meaning and purpose for our lives is found in finding and living into our part of the body of Christ.  The financial piece is only one part (and a very important part) of our stewardship.  Money and the Church budget are simply tools that we have to help us live out our purpose and mission in the world.  Without the addition of our time and gifts, we would not get very far.

I invite you to prayerfully think about ways you can present you "everyday, ordinary life" to God.  We have opportunities everyday, wherever we are to do just that.  If you are wondering how you can do that here at Church of Our Saviour, let's talk.  There are many tasks to be done, and opportunities to serve.

I want to end by thanking Chuck Perron for his offerings to God that we enjoy so much.  His faithful care of the garden and lawn is a gift to us and to Somerset.  Chuck (and often Bertha too) put in more hours than we can imagine to keep our property looking so beautiful.  We are all deeply grateful for your service to God and us.

I look forward to seeing what happens as we look to present our whole lives as an offering to God.

    
Shalom,