Skip to main content

Stewardship: a Bridge to Belonging

By

Stewardship—protecting, tending, caring—is at the core of what it means to live out my faith, of building and nourishing the beloved community. It is a call to bring my best self to the mission and life of the church. --Ellen Foley

What calls me to First Unitarian Church?  In many ways I can’t take credit for my Unitarian faith.  I grew up in the Unitarian church of Flint, Michigan; my grandparents were all Unitarian.  Religion did not occupy my conscious thoughts during my childhood and early adulthood.
And yet I have always had a strong moral compass and a certainty about my own spiritual values: justice, interdependence, the inherent worth and dignity of all human beings.  In my adulthood I have found, unsurprisingly, that Unitarian churches are the places where I find those who share this moral compass.  I find people I want to know.  People I admire.  People who I hope will shape my son’s sense of his place in the world and his responsibilities to it.
But how does that connect with stewardship? Merriam-Webster tells us that stewardship is the activity of protecting and being responsible for something; it is the careful and responsible management of something entrusted to one’s care.  For me the work of stewardship—protecting, tending, caring—is at the core of what it means to live out my faith.  Stewardship is a way of doing the necessary work of the world, of building the beloved community, and of protecting and nourishing that community for those who will follow in our footsteps.
I am passionate about the work of stewardship because it provides the path for church members to connect their own spiritual needs, values, and practices to the longevity, vitality, and joy and promise of church and church life.  What calls me to stewardship is the sense that I am answering a call: a call to expect the best of myself and others, a call to bring my best self to the mission and life of the church, and a call to take responsibility for the present and future of this precious community.   

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

New Member Stories: A Conversation with Linda Tartaglia

By
A conversation with Linda Tartaglia about joining First Unitarian and getting involved in the church community. Brian Shea: How long have you and your family been members of the church? Linda Tartaglia: About 2 years now. My husband Jim attended first, and then I started in the spring about a year later and by the end of the summer/early fall, that’s when we became members. Brian: A few months ago I was ushering and Jim was the welcome person in the front of the church. So we were just kind of chatting and it was funny because I think our family joined around the same time your family did, but I just assumed you had been members for a long time. You know when you go into a new place you assume that everyone has been there for a long time? So he was like, “oh yeah, we just joined relatively soon”. And he had mentioned, that he was brought up in the Catholic Church. Linda: Yeah. Me too. Brian: My wife and I as well, so we were kind of chatting abo
Post a Comment
Read more

New Member Stories: Emily Miller and Jim Burakiewicz

By
"We wanted to be part of what made the Church a place we were drawn to." This week's post is an interview with Emily Miller and Jim Burakiewicz about their experiences as new members of the First Unitarian community. Before you began attending First Unitarian, had you been attending another church or other faith community? No, not since childhood. Emily had explored Unitarianism before, but had not found a place that fit. Jim had been brought up Catholic and had not attended church for years. How did you hear about First Unitarian and what made you decide to visit? Emily had initially found First Unitarian and was interested in its history. We were both looking for a deeper community here in Worcester and decided that First Unitarian was a place to look for it. Why did you decide to become active participants in the church community? We found that everyone was so welcoming and friendly that we wanted to become contributing members of the church. As a path of
Post a Comment
Read more

An Outstanding Day One for the Annual Pledge Drive

By
" It is rare indeed that people give.  Most people guard and keep. "  If this observation from James Baldwin, one of our contry's most respected philosophers and novelists, is true, then the opening Sunday of our Annual Stewardship Pledge Drive was a rare one indeed.  Consider these day one  statistics : Total amound pledged: $96,628 (32% of our $300,000 goal !) Number of pledges: 62 (6 of these were first time pledges !) A whopping 56% increased their pledge over last year ! Let us keep the momentum going!  If you have not yet sent in your pledge, do so today.   This is truly a wonderful beginning, and it was made even more special by our interim minister's homily.  If you missed Tracey's message, what follows are a few of her memorable and moving insights.  We come through these doors in search, in need, in hope, in prayer. We come looking for something to make our lives better; to make the lives of our family, our friends, our neigh
2 comments
Read more