United First Parish Church
Quincy, Massachusetts

Stewardship

What Is Stewardship?

by John Hunt, Chair, Stewardship Committee, United First Parish Church

Starting July 1, 2007, our church is operating under a brand new set up bylaws.

Among other things, these bylaws replace a rather long list of standing committees with rather specific functions (such as Religious Education, Building and Grounds, Ministry, Ways and Means, Music, Finance, and so forth) with a much smaller set of more inclusive committees.

One of these new committees is the Stewardship Committee, and at the May 2007 annual meeting, the congregation voted me in as the first chair for this new committee.

The new bylaws charge the Stewardship Committee with general responsibility for the overall financial and physical well being of the Congregation and its possessions. On the surface, this would seem to fold several of the previous set of committees (such as Finance, Building and Grounds, Ways and Means, Canvass) into a single, new committee, with a larger set of responsibilities.

However, the new bylaws give us the opportunity to re-think and re-shape the way things work. This opportunity especially applies to how we think about Stewardship.

So, again, “What Is Stewardship?”

According to the UUA’s Wayne Clark, stewardship is first and foremost, “an act of worship.” As such, it includes things like –

Joyful sharing of gifts – apititudes, abilities, money
Call – to the congregation’s spiritual message, and a willingness to publicly proclaim it
Spiritual vocation – participating in volunteer efforts to support the faith community

As Clark sums it up:

“Stewardship is the growing, nurturing, promoting, and building of the gifts, calls, and spiritual vocation of the members of a faith community.”

In short, it’s not what you do, but the spirit that guides and influences what you do and how you do it.

[see Beyond Fundraising, by Wayne B. Clark, published in 2007 by the Unitarian Universalist Association, Boston.]

Stewardship as “imagining a culture of plenty”

In a similar fashion, the First Unitarian Society of Ithaca describes Stewardship as imagining a “a culture of plenty that will advance our programs and carry us forward in the church’s mission.”

“Together we will invest our time, talents, and financial resources to fund fully our vision of (our church) as a haven for the free development and expression of philosophical, spiritual, and religious beliefs. Nurturing our many spiritual, personal, and community opportunities means nurturing generosity. Working together as a congregation we will enrich our church programs, fund employee benefits for our staff members, support the minister whom we envision, contribute our fair share to our denomination, and maintain our church facilities.”
[Stewardship: Gathering the Green; http://unitarian.ithaca.ny.us/html/stewardship.html.]

Help us “imagine a new culture of stewardship” at United First Parish Church

The new bylaws present us with an opportunity to re-visit and re-claim the meaning of stewardship as a fundamental part of how we worship together as a congregation and faith community.

And we need your help, involvement, and participation.

We’re putting out the call for Stewardship Committee members for 2007-2008.

Joining the Stewardship committee as a member involves making the following commitments:

Attending a 90-minute meeting one weekday evening per month.
Contributing your creative ideas and inputs to help chart our new course towards healthy stewardship.
A willingness to share your gifts, call, and spiritual vacation with the church community.

Contact John Hunt, Stewardship Chair, for more information about joining and helping us grow our church stewardship.

Help us create a healthy congregation of generous, giving people at United First Parish Church.

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