Stewardship as a Spiritual Discipline

The Rev. Liz Embler-Beazley 

Mtr. Liz is the Priest-in-Charge at Grace Memorial Episcopal Church in Hammond,LA 

During college, I studied abroad for a semester at Rhodes University in Grahamstown, South Africa. This was not my first international trip, but it was the first time I was away from home for so long. It was in South Africa that I heard one of my first and clearest calls to ordained ministry and it was there that I experienced the church from a non-Western perspective for the first time. I had a friend in college who had studied abroad at this same university the year before me and she helped to connect me with a Baptist missionary couple, the Morrises, who became an important lifeline for me. Mr. Morris would pick me up and bring me to their home for dinner a few times per month and I used their webcam to Skype and actually see my parents. Mrs. Morris taught me a lot about the local culture and customs. They provided a much needed connection to home when I was some 13,000 miles away.

As part of their work, Mr. and Mrs. Morris would travel to different churches in and around Grahamstown to speak and support the local communities. Occasionally, they would invite me to go with them. I remember on one such trip we visited a rural town that had a simple cinderblock church. Mr. and Mrs. Morris spoke to the congregation in the local Xhosa language, one of the eleven national languages of South Africa. And I have a clear memory of attempting to introduce myself to the congregation in Xhosa, which was ambitious on my part as I was only a few weeks into a Xhosa language course at the University. The congregation was very kind and patient with me. I remember how the congregation sang with such beauty and passion. And I remember that when it came time for the offering, the people of this church did not simply put their gifts in a passed offering plate, they danced their gifts down the aisle. DANCED! They had such joy on their faces as they brought forth for God from what God had given to them. I will never forget how it felt to watch these faithful Christians praise God in this way. And I have never again seen this happen in another faith community. Whenever I remember this church, I think of 2 Corinthians 9:7 "Each of you must give as you have made up your mind, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver."

On Sunday, January 28, we too will have an opportunity to give of the gifts God has given us. And while I do not expect any of us to dance down the aisle at Grace Memorial, we will have the chance to bring our gifts to the altar, to give our pledges directly to God. Bringing our pledge cards to the altar may feel a bit strange, especially as it is not something that has been done in our church before. And I pray that we all might prayerfully consider that bringing our pledge cards to the altar is like how we bring ourselves to the altar for communion seeking union with our loving, creating, and life-sustaining God. When we understand stewardship as a spiritual discipline, as a means of deepening our relationship with God, we understand that our pledges, our gifts, are like the prayers we offer at the altar. These gifts help to grow the mission and ministry of our church and the Kingdom of God. I pray that our hearts are filled with cheer and joy as we gather on Sunday, January 28 and offer our own gifts to God.