Serving God in the heart of our community since 1881

St Andrew's Church, Taunton

St. Andrew's has been serving God in the heart of our community since 1881.  Those of us who attend the church share a vision for continuity and service in the future - we aim to discern God's will for us and faithfully to do his work.

Stewardship is an important part of our overall response of gratitude to God, and how we are called to give prayerful thought to how our giving of treasures, time and talents speaks of the priority of faith in our lives. 

This article is a summary of the key points from a talk given by our former Vicar, Revd. Julian Smith, and some suggestions about how each of us might respond.

What the Bible says about giving

·       St. Andrew’s is not making a claim on all that you give – we recognise that people want to give to God’s work in the world in many ways.

·       We simply ask that people rediscover a sense that giving to our church is giving to God – it’s so easy to lose sight of this.

·       We are not telling you what you should be giving – rather setting out broad Biblical principles and their challenge.

The earth is the Lord's, and everything in it,  the world, and all who live in it;  for he founded it upon the seas and established it upon the waters. (Psalm 24.1)

·       All that we are and all we have are God’s gifts - Christians are called to recognise this truth and respond.  That is the message of this passage:

And he told them this parable: "The ground of a certain rich man produced a good crop. He thought to himself, 'What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.'  "Then he said, 'This is what I'll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. And I'll say to myself, "You have plenty of good things laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry." ' "But God said to him, 'You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?'  "This is how it will be with anyone who stores up things for himself but is not rich toward God." (Luke 12.16-21)

·       The only response to God is thankfulness.  Thanksgiving with all we are and all we have.  Thanksgiving is the very mainspring of Christian living, the right motive of all service.

·       The standard is not measured in pints of beer or bottles of wine, nor in set percentages of our income.  The standard is set by God:

“Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven. Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you." (Luke 6.37-38)

·       We are called to present ourselves as a sacrifice to God. This is not the world’s way of doing things, but it aligns us with God as shown in this passage:

“Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.” (Romans 12.1-2)

So in summary

·      Christians are called to respond to God with the whole self, of which   money is a part.

·       Our motive in everything should be thanksgiving for all we receive from God.

·      This thanksgiving should shape all that we do.

·       It should be in tune with God and his ways .

·       It should be sacrificial, for Christ gave himself for us .

·      What we give financially is only a part of our whole response to God, but it is an important part.  Perhaps more than anything it speaks of the priority of our faith in our lives. If we spend more on the luxuries of life than we give to God, what does that say about God’s place in our lives?

A request from our Vicar and Churchwardens

Please look at the money that comes in and goes out of your account.  Look at what you give to God, both through the church and in the wider world.  Where does God come on your scale of priorities?  Our giving ought to be sacrificial, or at least realistic.  It should recognise the needs here at St. Andrew’s, in Taunton, in Pakistan, Malawi, and elsewhere in the world.

“And here is my advice about what is best for you in this matter: Last year you were the first not only to give but also to have the desire to do so. Now finish the work, so that your eager willingness to do it may be matched by your completion of it, according to your means. For if the willingness is there, the gift is acceptable according to what one has, not according to what one does not have.”  (2 Corinthians 8.10-12)

Guidelines for Personal Stewardship 

·     Give to God first.  Most people budget – set aside (mentally if not physically) what you will give before you do anything else.

·     Give to God thankfully and give regularly – God is always there for us, whether we’ve been to church or not!

·     Let the people you give to help you – e.g. St Andrew’s has weekly and monthly envelopes and can help arrange standing orders, most charities are happy to receive gifts by standing order. 

·     If you pay tax please give serious consideration to using Gift Aid or payroll giving. 

·      Review your giving annually (choose a date that ‘s easy to remember – birthday, Easter, New Year, after a pay review) in the light of your circumstances and the needs. 

·     Support the church and other ministries and charities with time and skill. 

·     Keep your will up to date and consider bequests to church and charity.

Please consider:

·     I will live simply, so that others may simply live 

·     I will take fair trade and ethical issues into account when shopping and investing 

·     I will help to preserve God’s world by sensible use of non-renewable resources and recycling waste 

·     I will share my home, car and possessions with family, friends and neighbours, particularly those who are more disadvantaged.

Our grateful thanks.

On

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