Stewardship and Giving
Paraphrased from Stewardship: The Joy of Giving by Wayne B. Clark of the UUA, 2007

We all want to be part of a faith that promotes religious freedom, inclusiveness of all peoples and all spirituality…to find kindred souls with whom to connect. There are so many reasons we care for Emerson Church. This caring, and the actions that stem from it are called stewardship. In addition to attending services and religious education classes, and in addition to making use of the church facilities, stewardship requires us to assume responsibility. We contribute of ourselves: our time, our talent and our money. We feel a sense of responsibility for our church and what it stands for. This responsibility propels us to take action on a regular basis to nourish and support it so that others can feel the same sense of safety, belonging and empowerment. Here are some additional comments on stewardship and giving:

All we have is just on loan. Whether it be our next breath, the food we eat, what is in our pocketbooks; it is on loan and we cannot take it with us when we go. We have the opportunity to use these resources to help care for others and those less fortunate than ourselves as a sign of our gratitude, and the essential question is not how much we can afford to give, but how much we can afford to keep.
—Steven Gray, Indiana-Kentucky Conference Minister, United Church of Christ, 1998

Assuming Gray is right, if we can't afford to keep much, why do we give? Here are six positive reasons:

1. In gratitude. Giving can be a way of saying thanks for the gifts that have been bestowed upon us. We give because we acknowledge that we are fortunate to have already received many gifts. Giving can feel like an act of worship, a celebration of abundance.
2. It is meaningful. There is really nothing bad about feeling good. Giving is truly one of the great joys of life. Giving provides a depth of purpose that peels away several layers of our day-to-day superficiality. Giving takes us away from navel gazing and helps us to focus beyond our personal boundaries.
3. To help. We are, by nature, predisposed to be helpful. If we believe in the case that is being made, we will be motivated by the benefit that others will receive from our gift.
4. In trust. The most spiritual stewardship is relational and personal rather than institutional. We give our gifts, our call, and our spiritual vocation* to people we admire, to people who have a high level of integrity. We will give a financial gift, for example, to someone who we believe has already given a meaningful gift of her own. This implies, of course, that people cannot ask us to give something before they have given abundantly of their gifts, call and spiritual vocation. *Gifts: Aptitude, ability and money. Call: Willingness to proclaim the congregation's spiritual message. Spiritual vocation: Willingness to take up volunteer efforts in support of the faith community. Have you felt that others in your church community have given meaningful gifts from which you benefit?
5. Committment and belief in our organization’s mission. When we are passionately connected to our faith community, and if a strong mission-driven case is presented to us, we readily give of ourselves.
6. We were asked. It should not be surprising that many of us find it hard to ask others for gifts. But we often give willingly to someone who musters the courage to ask. Asking is the single most important factor in securing stewardship for the faith community.

Be prepared to ask …and to be asked!
Focus on the joy of giving.

Shop Online and Raise Money For Emerson Church! Just click the Amazon button at left whenever you buy books, music, movies, electronic gear, computers (and anything else that Amazon.com sells), and Emerson Church will get a cash rebate equal to 5 to 7% of your purchase! Please note: You will pay the exact same sales price, and shipping charge (or free shipping) that you would normally pay. There is NO penalty to you! Emerson can use this income! We are not requesting that you purchase anything over and above what you would usually purchase; just visit this page when you do want to buy something from them.

How About This Idea? Bookmark this page, but title your bookmark Amazon. That way, the next time you click your link, you’ll automatically send yourself here first!

Please note: If you use this page to window shop at Amazon, but then later return via a different route to make the actual purchase, the tracking mechanism that ties the sale to the church will be lost! So please remember to initiate your purchasing from this page each time you visit Amazon so that the church will benefit.
The link to Amazon is provided here as a creative and easy way for our church to raise additional funds. Endorsement by Emerson Unitarian Universalist Church is neither expressed nor implied.

Scholarship Fund We are starting our second year of helping three students who are the first in their families to go to college. No amount is too small: $10x100 members is a lot! What a difference we can make! Contact: Carol Groppe

Donate Blood The M.D. Anderson Blood Donation Coach stops at Emerson on the first Sunday of each quarter, from 9am to 1pm. Upcoming scheduled dates are February 3, May 4, August 3 and November 2, 2008. Please come before or after the worship service to donate blood and save lives.

If you’re at least 17 years of age (no upper age limit) and weigh at least 110 pounds, please consider becoming a blood donor. And remember that a temporary deferral from qualifying as a donor in the past due to certain health conditions, medications or foreign travel may no longer apply.