Stewardship

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2017 CAMPAIGN:
IT IS RIGHT TO GIVE GOD THANKS AND PRAISE

Aloha All Saints’ ‘Ohana,
 
“It is right, and a good and joyful thing, always and everywhere to give thanks to you, Father Almighty, Creator of heaven and earth.” As the celebrant, this is my response every Sunday to the Congregation’s profound and prophetic affirmation, “It is right to give God thanks and praise.” During the Eucharist, at the Lord’s Table, Christ invites us to be known and to be fed. The Eucharist nourishes and empowers us for the week ahead.
 
On Sundays, we gather and worship in Church. Between Sundays, we are The Church!
 
Throughout the country, there are countless churches in “survival mode”—they are barely able to sustain the opportunity to gather and worship together. Too often living the Gospel between Sundays happens on an individual level rather than through the mission and vision of the Church. Sadly, for most of these struggling churches, their fate is inevitable.
 
There are three commonalities among Churches that decline and eventually die: (1) Lack of growth in Church membership, (2) Dwindling resources and financial support, and, (3) Inability to live out the Gospel between Sundays.    
 
Over the next decade, the stewardship of our finite resources (people, financial, leadership, and capital resources) is the greatest challenge for All Saints’, the Episcopal Diocese of Hawai‘i, and the National Episcopal Church. The reason why your Stewardship Ministry, Vestry, and rector emphasize “stewardship” is because it is through our offerings of time, talents, and resources that we are able to (1) Grow our ‘Ohana, (2) Provide resources and financial sustainability, and, (3) Nourish and empower the vision of All Saints’ between Sundays.
 
The vision of All Saints’ is to be a cathedral for the people of Kaua‘i—a center for worship, education, outreach, and the arts. This is not a Sunday-only vision—it is a vision for 365 days each year. As All Saints’ nourishes and empowers us, we are called to nourish and empower All Saints’. We nourish and empower the Church when we share our time, lend our talents, and invest the resources that God has so richly bestowed upon us. 

​ Every Sunday in 2017, through the Eucharist, our congregation will have the opportunity to celebrate and proclaim our stewardship vision: “It is right to give God thanks and praise.” It is our hope that between Sundays, the people of All Saints’ will then embody and live out the vision “to give God thanks and praise.”
 
Why is it important to not only celebrate and proclaim, but to also embody and live out stewardship?

  • It is right to give because God has given to us. “God richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment” – 1 Timothy 6:17

  • It is good to give because we want our heart to be right before God. “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” – Matthew 6:21

  • It is a joyful thing to give because we have been richly blessed by the abundance of God’s love and grace. “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life.” – John 3:16
 
There is both a public and a personal spiritual journey when it comes to embodying and living out stewardship.
 
In our public journey, as we go forward in 2017, I invite you to “lift up your hearts”, and with one voice joyously shout, “It is right to give God thanks and praise.” Between Sundays, take the Church into the world and give witness to your thanks and praise of God.
 
In your personal journey, as you go forth with God and with All Saints’, I hope you have an opportunity to discern and pray how you can offer your time, talents, and resources for the glory of God. What would it look like if you invested further into the mission and vision of All Saints’?
 
Any commitment of time, talents, and resources, especially when growing your commitment, demands a leap of faith. As we give more of ourselves, we naturally worry more about what remains. However, our life of faith calls us to embrace and exemplify a theology of abundant giving. It is through this theology of abundant giving that we reject the fearful mindset of scarcity; instead, we affirm our faithful commitment to give God thanks and praise from the living waters that flow endlessly from our Savior Jesus Christ.
 
The river of God is rushing . . . and we rejoice, for the river is here!
 
Faithfully in Christ,

The Reverend Ryan D. Newman
Rector and Head of School

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IMPACT OF ALL SAINTS' MINISTRIES

This video, prepared by the Stewardship Committee, was shared with the congregation on Sunday, October 23, 2016.
RVSP for All Saints' Day Breakfast

Campaign Resources

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Stewardship Archives