Stewardship Reflection - Living Into New Ways of Being Church

Living Into New Ways of Being Church
By The Rev. Melanie S. Donahoe

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Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I shall fear no evil; for you are with me. – Psalm 23

The comforting words of Psalm 23 have taken on new meaning as together we have walked through the “valley of the shadow of death” created by the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic.

It has not been an easy time, yet God’s “goodness and mercy” have been abundantly reflected as God’s people have faithfully cared for strangers and for one another.

You have reached out to help bear the pain of those who have lost loved ones. Through simple acts of kindness — picking up groceries for elderly neighbors, regularly calling those who live alone in fearful isolation, sewing masks, serving in food pantries — God’s Holy Spirit has inspired you to be Christ’s daily loving, healing presence in the world. Our physical church doors may have necessarily been shuttered, but “the Church” has never been closed.

And God has never been absent. God has shepherded us, leading and guiding us along us pathways we could not have imagined a year ago. Perhaps it is in the hardest times when we most clearly recognize how God continues, always, always to sustain us.

Even when we could not gather together for Holy Communion, God continued to feed us — with God’s Holy Word, with live-streamed services and “virtual” coffee hours.

And now as some of us slowly, carefully begin to gather again inside our churches, we will learn new ways of including those who still need to “shelter in place” — and innovative ways of welcoming those who have never been “inside’ our church buildings, but joyfully discovered Church on the internet in a time of pandemic.

As we live into new, exciting (yes, exciting!) ways of being Church, God will continue to reveal opportunities for us to welcome everyone so that, together, we may “dwell in the house of the Lord our whole lives long.”

Melanie S. Donahoe is the rector of The Episcopal Church of the Epiphany in San Carlos, California.

Stewardship Reflection - Surrendering Privilege and Wealth

Surrendering Privilege and Wealth
By The Rev. Ed Gomez

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This Sunday falls on the Feast of St. Francis of Assisi and, as if by design, all the readings speak to his exemplary life of practicing generosity. Living church in the time of COVID-19 has reconfirmed my views of poverty and generosity.

As I ponder today’s readings, Paul’s words pop out at me in Philippians, where he writes:

“Yet whatever gains I had, these I have come to regard as loss because of Christ.”

He continues:

“For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things, and I regard them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but one that comes through faith in Christ.”

In reflecting on the life of Francis and these words, I wish to suggest that we not romanticize his embrace of poverty, but rather focus on his Faith-Filled Generosity. His generosity allowed him to surrender his privilege and wealth, and to embrace and consider them “rubbish,” in order to be Jesus to those who need Him most.

When the church where I serve, San Pablo in Houston, closed doors for public worship, we opened a new way of church... one that provided drive-by food distribution and rental assistance for Houston’s most vulnerable people. Donations and volunteerism increased tenfold and online viewership flourished more than any Sunday attendance record in recent memory. The gifts came mainly from those we called “unchurched” or who do not consider themselves religious. The joy exuded in giving included dancing, socially distant high-fives and laughter through masks.

Our worship became solidarity and compassion, the religious became spiritual, the unchurched found their worship, and the poor heard and felt the Good News. I learned that practicing Faith-Filled Generosity as Francis did transforms and unites us all.  A new Church for a new world.

Ed Gomez is pastor at Iglesia de San Pablo in Houston. He also serves on the boards of The Episcopal Network for Stewardship and Christian Church Homes.

Mr. David Sirugo Reflects on Stewardship

Introducing Tithe.ly - An Online Giving Option

We are excited to introduce Tithe.ly - an online giving option! With recommendations from both The Episcopal Network for Stewardship (TENS) and two other congregations in our Diocese, we have setup an online giving account with Tithe.ly. This online portal allows you to donate to St. Paul’s quickly and easily. You can use a credit card or your bank account. You do not even need to setup a Tithe.ly account in order to contribute. (You are welcome to do so to save time on future contributions if you’d like.)

The link for our St. Paul’s specific giving portal is https://tithe.ly/give_new/www/#/tithely/give-one-time/2319049 and can be found via the DONATE button on the upright corner of our website (https://www.stpaulslaporte.org/) The screen should look like the one below:

You are welcome to give one time, or setup a recurring payment if that is more convenient to you. You will also have an option to “Cover the Fees” of making an electronic donation if you so desire. (The fees for this service are based on each transaction with a $0.30 flat transaction fee + 2.9% of the amount donated.)

Of course, St. Paul’s will always welcome cash and checks, which have no explicit fees. If that is how you prefer to support your church community, please continue to do so. We also recognize that in this expanding virtual community making an electronic donation is much easier for people joining us from all around the country! (And that is a delightful opportunity for us.)

All contributions, whether in person or electronic, will be properly receipted at the end of the year for IRS tax purposes.

Please don’t hesitate to reach out to Mother Michelle (priest@stpaulslaporte.org) or Treasurer Sue Cummings with any questions. We have tested the link and the original donation made was delivered safely and promptly to our checking account!

Blessings!