Liturgy School Students on Personal Giving

This week in liturgy school, our lesson was entitled Personal Giving. Together, we answered questions from our text book about the gifts we have received and how we give to God and the Church. Then each student was given a sheet with these questions to help them consider their own giving in preparation for this Sunday.

This coming Sunday is Stewardship Sunday, when we hope to have collected everyone's annual pledge cards from the Stewardship campaign. We also hold a lunch after the service as a celebration of all that we as a Church community have received from God and rededicated to do God's work in the Church. In this final week of the Stewardship campaign, I thought I would share a record of the class' answers to the aforementioned questions from liturgy school. I hope these thoughts can inspire your own reflections on how you give.

1. What can people give to God and the church besides money?

• Bread and wine
• space
• land
• loyalty
• food
• skills
• time
• effort
• music
• leadership
• prayer
• communion
• one's soul

2. What are the benefits of giving your time, talent and treasure to God and the church?

• you make God happy
• you feel good
• you do something nice for others
• you are participating in the community
• you are acting out your belief
• you are supporting people who need it
• you support the Church being around in the world
• you can use your gifts in the Church for God
• you build up the community
• you give people opportunities
• you have more opportunities

3. Money is also an important gift we can give to God and the church. What reasons do people give for spending money on themselves instead of giving it to God and the Church?

• It is a waste of money.
• Why should I bother?
• I don't know how to give.
• But I'm poor.
• I need to pay for my house.
• I only get $2/week.
• My parents already give to the Church.
• Other people my age don't give to the Church.
• I deserve this money

The questions answered here are not the end of this conversation, just as the stewardship campaign is not the last time we will talk about our use of resources. There are many important questions that we must continue to ask ourselves about our responsibilities for how we receive and use what God has given us. God has provided us with abundant life and many gifts to enjoy therein. Through good stewardship we celebrate these gifts and use them to become gracious and generous, like the God in whose image we are each made.