Christian Stewardship Statement for St. John the Evangelist Mission

Christian Stewardship Statement for St. John the Evangelist Mission

“For even as the body is one and yet has many members, and all the members of the body, though they are many are one body, so also is Christ, for by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body…” I Corinthians 12:12-13

“For I testify that according to their ability and beyond their ability they gave of their own accord…but they first gave themselves to the Lord and to us by the will of God.”  II Corinthians 8:3-5

To be in Christ is to be a member of His body, the Church. To be a member of the body is to lose our “individuality” but to find our true “selves” which are created in the image of God who exists in Trinity: a communion of Persons. In order to be truly human, to be healed of all that is “un-Godly” within us we must learn to live in love in community.

“Let us commend ourselves and each other and all of our life unto Christ our God” is what we pray at the end of each Great Litany. This simple prayer is the sum of the Christian life: to offer ourselves, in community, completely to Christ. The Parish Council affirms this statement as representing the “ethos”, or guiding principle of St. John the Evangelist Mission.

How does this apply to our understanding of Christian Stewardship? Giving of ourselves is the totality of our existence in Christ who gave Himself for us. When we speak of stewardship it means the ordering of our whole existence for the sake of giving it to God in an orderly, purposeful and joyful way so that nothing is left to selfishness, self-serving and God-less pursuits. Following Christ and dying to ourselves means sharing our material resources as well as our spiritual resources to the edification and nurturing of others.

The simple rule for Christian giving is clearly stated by Saint Paul in 2 Corinthians 9:6-8: “But this I say, He which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully. Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver.

Every Orthodox Christian needs to realize that Stewardship is a fundamental part of Orthodox doctrine so we are all stewards of our faith. Being stewards of our faith means giving to those in need; which includes the Church but is not exclusive to the Church. A general rule of thumb offered by the [Holy] Fathers for those pursuing the spiritual way is to keep only what we need, and generously give the rest to others who are in need.

The above serves as a framework for what it means to be a good steward as a member of Christ’s Holy Church in His community of St. John the Evangelist Mission:

  1. Active participation in the sacramental (worship and prayer) life of the Church.
  2. Involvement in the ministries and activities of the community outside worship.
  3. Cultivation of caring and wholesome relationships within the community.
  4. Tithing as the Biblical standard of purposeful and regular financial support of the Mission and its ministries.
  5. Almsgiving, the anonymous and generous giving to the needy, unworthy and undeserving.