Stewardship is a spiritual practice for all ages!
Dear St. James’ Children’s Ministry Families,
As we enter the Season of Stewardship, we invite you to contemplate the following:
Stewardship is based on the idea that all we have and all we are comes from God. In order to thank God for our many blessings, we have numerous opportunities in our everyday lives to give back a portion of the time, talent and treasure that God has blessed us with to our friends, families, communities which includes our church.
Stewardship is not a program, rather it is a way of life. Stewardship calls for us to share ourselves, to be a holy people, to step up and to take the risk of living out the gospel of our savior, Jesus Christ, in a variety of different ways based on our time, talent, and treasure (finances and resources).
We are all called to be disciples and caretakers of God’s many gifts. Stewardship is not solely about tithing, sacrificial giving or fundraising. Stewardship is about coming together as a community of faith with all that we are and all that we have in order to support the well-being of one another and the communities with which we are connected.
We are excited to provide you all with resources that will support you all as we explore concrete ways we can work together to be good stewards here in our St. James community and beyond. Please feel free to contact us with any questions, concerns, or ideas you may have that will support this part of our journey together.
Tanya Martinez
Children’s Minister
Environmental Stewardship
Environmental stewardship is the responsibility for environmental quality shared by all those whose actions affect the environment. This sense of responsibility is a value that
can be reflected through the choices of individuals, companies, communities, and government organizations, and shaped by unique environmental, social, and economic interests. It is also a behavior, one demonstrated through continuous improvement of environmental performance, and a commitment to efficient use of natural resources, protection of ecosystems, and, where applicable, ensuring a baseline of compliance with environmental requirements.
Activity Suggestion:
Upcycle and repurpose
Rather than tossing your recyclables in the bin, why not see what else you can make with them first? There are plenty of ideas online for this, but you can also allow your child to come up with things that they find useful for themselves. For bigger items, you can create a “recycled sculpture” with them. This is the perfect opportunity to talk to them about reusing and repurposing things rather than disposing of them when possible.
Stewardship of Time
Stewardship of time means the act of carefully managing your time, which is a gift that God has given you. It means making proactive choices about how you choose to spend your hours each day. It’s about being intentional about the things you choose to complete and the way you choose to use that time.
Practical Application:
You might converse with your children about what a typical day looks like for them. Check in with them to see if they feel overwhelmed by the amount of things they are doing each day, and assess which things are most important, and those things that may need re-evaluating to see if they can be done at a different time, or at all. Are those things serving them and others well?
Stewardship of Talent/Gifts
Our talents and gifts are not given to us just for our own use, but are given to us for the enrichment of the lives of others in order for us to serve God better. Christ asks us to do good works in the lives of those in our communities, and with those who are learning more about our life in Faith together here at St. James’. 1 Peter 4:10 says that each one of us should use whatever gift we have been given to serve others as faithful stewards of God’s grace.
Activity Suggestion:
You might talk with your children about what they enjoy doing. For example, if they enjoy activities that center around gardening, you might be on the lookout for a neighbor who is not able to weed their flower beds. Check in with that neighbor and share with them that you all would like to do something special for them by assisting with this project, and ask if this is OK with them. Some children enjoy the arts, and may be interested to share songs or arts and crafts with peers who do not have these opportunities (in our partner schools, or the
shelter near us for women and children, etc.).
Stewardship of Treasure (Resources which include finances)
Our money and possessions— our treasure are gifts from God that we are asked to care for and generously share. It is essential to share our money and material possessions for two reasons: first, all the good things that God made, including money, are meant to be shared, and second we are to give our money to individuals and families in need, to the Church, and other worthwhile charitable organizations (Acts 2:44, Acts 4:32). We all have an opportunity to return thanks to a loving God for our many blessings.
Activity Suggestion:
You might share with your children that we can donate: food, clothing, shoes, toiletries, money, to places that give folks access to the things they need to have a better quality of life. One such example is: donating directly to the Central Texas Food Bank. They partner directly with St. James’ 501(c)3, Welcome Table. Our Neighbor 2 Neighbor program thrives when people are generous to the Central Texas Food Bank. They are currently facing challenges to meet the needs of the various food distribution centers, so all that you can give will be helpful.