Often when I see a child from the ages of two to five running around, I am envious of their energy. They are expelling energy as they move about the room and laugh joyously. Oh, if only I could have a quarter of their energy, I think to myself or say out loud to the person next to me.
 

As you know, our energy changes as we age. It’s not a cascading waterfall of vigor like in years past. It’s now a sacred pool of power into which we scoop our jars as we need, focusing our energy on what is most important in our lives. Years earlier, we may have gone here and there each and every weekend and still having enough energy to go to church on Sundays and have enough rest for the workweek. But as we age, our energy
becomes more and more sacred to us, and we must budget it to last long enough for the activities we value most.
 

I like to think of stewardship in much the same way. We are using our energy to serve God and our neighbors. Throughout our lives, we have various amounts of time, talents, and treasures. When we are young we may have copious amounts of time, but our treasures may be limited. Our talents grow throughout our lives, but our health impacts our bodies, we are not able to use our talents or time in the same way.
 

As active, covenantal members of a congregation, each person has something they can offer a church. Through a certain skill, you may be using your talents to promote the church or create a new ministry. Through your time, you may be able to greet people as they enter on Sunday mornings. Through sharing your treasures, your financial gifts of various sorts will continue to promote our core values: We believe all people matter to God and are welcome here; We strive to be servants in service to others; We need Christian Education for good faith and life.
 

Throughout November, we will be reflecting on what stewardship means to each of us. How is it that we can best use what we have to ensure we are loving God and loving our neighbors as ourselves as we head into 2025? Is there a possibility that we can increase attending worship one more Sunday per month or increase our contribution the equivalent of one latte per month? How can we be bold and try a new project or team at
St. Paul in this next year? How can we make one additional phone call or write one additional card to a congregant letting them know we are thinking about them? Could we share information about the church with one more person? And how can we share an extra hour or two per month helping out a community organization?
 

Stewardship is not only about financial resources but also using any of our resources to share the love of God in the church and our world. How will you use your resources of any size and shape to build the ministries of St. Paul and beam God’s love and light in our world?
 

I am grateful for all of your gifts and energy you share with St. Paul UCC and our congregants!

Blessings,
Pastor Michelle