Entrusted to Our Care
Dear Fellow Members of Myers Park Covenant Church,
Our staff and various ministries have been thinking about the funds which will be required to operate and maintain our church’s properties, programs, missions, music, and staff next year. We have begun our annual stewardship campaign to raise those funds. I have been asked to write about stewardship. Merriam-Webster defines it as “the careful, responsible management and protection of something entrusted to one’s care.” While our church covenant does not use those words, it does speak about stewardship. We say, “We covenant together to nurture this church as a community of faith and as an instrument for reconciliation in the world: by our worship, by Christian education, by the dedication of our personal and material resources, and by all the other ways we express the significance of our lives with God and one another.” With gratitude and thankfulness for God’s grace and love, we each upon prayerful consideration, decide upon our personal contribution to the annual stewardship effort.
The Merriam-Webster definition talks about responsible management of something entrusted to our care. Our church was founded in 1943, and the sanctuary was completed in 1952 with other buildings to follow. We are the beneficiaries of the nurture and care given to these buildings by those who came before us. They are now entrusted to our care. We are also entrusted with the responsibility of caring for our ministry. We receive powerful messages from the pulpit each week talking about truth and justice. We are fortunate to have a church which sustains critical examination of scriptures and is open to all. We are also moved in worship by our music from our organist, the choir, and occasionally from special musicians. Part of our stewardship goes toward making sure that we carry these strengths forward.
We are at an important time in the life of our church. We are close to inviting a new senior minister to lead us. This person may want to invite other associate ministers to assist. Our annual stewardship campaign will support our wish for superior preaching, outstanding music, and well thought out educational programs. Due to Covid, and for other reasons, our facilities have suffered significant deferred maintenance. We cannot take care of all the deferred items at once, but a strong stewardship campaign will be part of the solution.
We will be called upon to make a pledge to the stewardship campaign. Pledging makes it much easier to plan because we are more confident in the amount of money we will have to pay our bills. I am aware that some members over the last few years have not pledged, opting instead to put their contribution to the church into the offering plate as it is passed. Please think about pledging this year.
I have been very fortunate to have grown up in this church. I am grateful for its ministers, its music, my teachers, and for this congregation. You have been there for my happy times and my sad times. We have worked together for the church in good times and hard times. I am so grateful for you and believe that we have great times ahead of us.
Sincerely,
Dick Cornwell