Forty-two years ago last month, I committed my life to Jesus Christ. I was a freshman in college who had never set foot in a church service until that time. I was blessed by having a caring group of friends who were trained in discipling new believers. They helped me learn about the Bible, the church, and most importantly about my new life in Christ.

Probably the thing I struggled with most was the idea that if God's love was free, why then should I be expected to contribute weekly to the church via the Sunday offering? I had come to believe in the gospel - but I still had my reservations about the church.

That skepticism may be wise, but, ultimately, I had to answer some soul-searching questions about my reluctance to give. Was I using my skepticism as a convenient excuse to cover for what really was just selfishness and greed? I wasn't any more generous to other causes even if I wasn't giving as much to the church as I ought. Even more to the point, if I had truly given my whole self over to Christ, should that not also include my possessions?

I grudgingly gave - five dollars a week when I was in attendance. But it wasn't until a couple of years had passed that I gained new insight into the purpose of my giving. I was given a copy of Ron Sider's now classic book, Rich Christians in an Age of Hunger, in which the author, a theologian and sociologist, laid out the Biblical perspective on our affluence and the world's need. I was introduced to the prophets of the Old Testament, and how they condemned their pious, wealthy neighbors who saw wealth as an end in itself at the expense of the poor around them. I learned that faith wasn't just about me, or what happens to me when I die, but it was about God's design for humankind - what Jesus called "the Kingdom of God."

I then came to understand a core principle of our faith: that the stewardship of our possessions is not just about what we owe God, it was about bearing witness to the love of Jesus Christ for the sake of others. In other words, stewardship is both worship and mission. And, as the prophets testify, the acceptability of the former is based largely on the compassionate generosity expressed in the latter.

Biblical stewardship is not about paying the bills or purchasing spiritual goods and services. It is even less about personal financial enrichment. It is about using our possessions to glorify God by becoming agents of God's compassionate justice in the world.

Much has been written about the supposed financial meltdown of the major denominations. That is true only when we look at our resources through the lens of institutional maintenance. Although we are still one of the wealthiest denominations in the history of the world, we have fewer people giving, and they are increasingly giving not to the institution but to a specific concrete purpose or cause that makes a difference in the world. We should see this less as a crisis than as an opportunity. Presbyterians haven't gotten poorer, they have gotten wiser. Younger generations have rejected institutional self-preservation and require that we not only put our money where our mouth is, but that we also put our hands and feet there too.

In the month of June, the Presbytery will be focusing on new visions of stewardship. The equipping time at our June 6 Presbytery meeting will feature Rev. Stephen Keizer of the Presbyterian Foundation who will lead us in a "Congregational Stewardship Assessment" process by which we can see how our stewardship is integrated into the life and mission of our churches. Then on June 24 we will host a Presbytery-wide workshop on "New Visions of Stewardship" that is designed to help churches adapt to a changing society's patterns of giving and mission. This is an extraordinary opportunity that I hope our churches will take full advantage of.

From Memorial Day through Labor Day the Presbytery Office will be switching to our summer hours of:

Monday - Thursday 8:00 am to 3:30 pm

Friday 8:00 am to noon

Please contact the office at 989-799-7481 should you need to make special arrangements for a meeting. 

The Presbytery of Lake Huron Vision Task Force was created by the Coordinating Team in January of this year. It is charged with facilitating conversations regarding our identity, mission, and partnerships towards becoming a more responsive and missional community of faith. To assist us in our charge, questionnaires were sent to each pastor and clerk of session about what their church is doing in regard to community involvement and how the presbytery might help strengthen, share and expand their mission commitments. We received responses from approximately 50% of the questionnaires and have compiled and summarized the data.    We thank each church that took the time to respond to the questions. This information will be most helpful to the task force as we learn about what is currently happening and make recommendations to the presbytery for future opportunities.  We will have this information available for distribution at the June presbytery meeting or you can click here  to view it now .

 

The task force has also be actively working on a disaster response plan for the presbytery so that both the presbytery and each church can be prepared.  Our intent is to have a draft of the plan ready to present to the Coordinating Team in July and to the presbytery at the September meeting.

 

Should you have questions or suggestions please contact any member of the task force.

 

Rev. Katja Gruening, Rev. Desiree Lawson, Elder CJ Merriman, CRE Kathleen Rowe, Rev. Dr. Dan Saperstein, Elder Luz Yterrock