{"id":693,"date":"2020-04-08T14:49:39","date_gmt":"2020-04-08T18:49:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/espiritusanto.diocesanweb.org\/church\/?page_id=693"},"modified":"2020-04-08T14:49:45","modified_gmt":"2020-04-08T18:49:45","slug":"elements-of-stewardship","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/espiritusanto.cc\/church\/giving\/elements-of-stewardship\/","title":{"rendered":"The Elements of Stewardship"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"alignleft size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"350\" height=\"256\" src=\"https:\/\/espiritusanto.cc\/church\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2020\/04\/stewardship_image2.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-699\" srcset=\"https:\/\/espiritusanto.cc\/church\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2020\/04\/stewardship_image2.jpg 350w, https:\/\/espiritusanto.cc\/church\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2020\/04\/stewardship_image2-300x219.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 350px) 100vw, 350px\" \/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The Call<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>God calls us individually and intends for each one of us to play a unique role in carrying out the divine plan.&nbsp; The challenge, then, is to understand our role&#8211; our vocation&#8211; and to respond generously to this call from God.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Stewardship is a vocation to discipleship.&nbsp; The Mature disciple makes a firm decision to be a follower of Christ and to imitate His way of life no matter what the cost.&nbsp; Disciples practice Stewardship as a way of life.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">To Follow Faithfully<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>We are called to be faithful and loyal to the teachings of the Church- to practice our faith consistently and sacramentally.&nbsp; Following faithfully defines itself in our lives, family lives, attendance at and participation in the life of the parish Church.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Stewardship is a lifestyle, a life of total accountablity and responsibility, acknowledging God as the Creator and Owner of all.&nbsp; Christian Stewards see themselves as the caretakers of all God&#8217;s gifts.&nbsp; Gratitude for these many gifts is expressed in prayer, worship, offering and action.&nbsp; Stewardship is a way of thanking God for all our blessings by returning to God a portion of the many gifts that we have been given.&nbsp; It involves the intentional, planned and proportionate giving of all we have.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>God has given each of us certain things, and we are responsible for caring for them and are accountable for what we do with them.&nbsp; Stewardship rejects the notion that we must &#8220;have it all&#8221; and instead demonstrate the value of giving in love, in service and in justice.&nbsp; GOod stewards have an &#8220;attitude of gratitude.&#8221;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As with all things pertaining to the Gospel, Stewardship is fundamentally the work of the Spirit in our lives.&nbsp; When we accept our lives as sheer gifts, the Spirit can use us as apt instruments for spreading the Gospel.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>What are your gifts from God?<\/strong><br>When the time comes for us to consider sharing our special gifts of time and talent, what if we are not sure of what they are?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Here are a few questions to ask yourself when considering the stewardship opportunities which are best suited for your special gifts. Think about it, pray about it, take a leap of faith and fill out one of the following sheets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Evangelization \u2013 Are you\u2026<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>Generally, a good communicator? Feeling drawn to build discipleship? Compelled to help others understand the Jesus story?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Shepherding \u2013 Do You\u2026<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>Have a knack for uniting people? Encourage a team approach to problems? Influence others to get involved?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Teaching \u2013 Do You\u2026<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>Set high standards of excellence? Enjoy presenting what you have learned? Have patience and understanding?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Encouraging \u2013 Do You\u2026<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>Always try to encourage others? Have a strong sense of concern? Enjoy using your skills to communicate?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Mercy \u2013 Are You\u2026<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>Concerned for the individual? Sympathizing and empathetic? Often doing what no one else likes to do?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Serving \u2013 Are You Often\u2026<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>Found working behind the scenes? Helping others without really thinking about it? Motivated to \u201cdo whatever needs to be done?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Administration \u2013 Do you\u2026<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>Have a strong sense of organization? Focus on team activities vs. individual? Have a knack for delegating \/ following up?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Creative \u2013 Can You \u2026<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>Think outside the box? Talk to God more effectively without speaking? Deliver a message through song or instrument? Think of ways to communicate other than speaking?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Call God calls us individually and intends for each one of us to play a unique role in carrying out the divine plan.&nbsp; The challenge, then, is to understand\u2026<a href=\"https:\/\/espiritusanto.cc\/church\/giving\/elements-of-stewardship\/\" class=\"readMoreLink\" title=\"Read More\" rel=\"nofollow\">Read More&nbsp;&gt;&nbsp;&gt;<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":695,"parent":691,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-693","page","type-page","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/espiritusanto.cc\/church\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/693","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/espiritusanto.cc\/church\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/espiritusanto.cc\/church\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/espiritusanto.cc\/church\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/espiritusanto.cc\/church\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=693"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/espiritusanto.cc\/church\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/693\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":701,"href":"https:\/\/espiritusanto.cc\/church\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/693\/revisions\/701"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/espiritusanto.cc\/church\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/691"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/espiritusanto.cc\/church\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/695"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/espiritusanto.cc\/church\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=693"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}