From the Rector…
At the Stewardship Breakfast, Mary Lee Yelverton, the Stewardship Chairperson, offered her thoughts on stewardship and Ascension. I was touched by her comments as I not only agreed with every word she said, but it reminded me that too often we hear so much of what is not going well, we forget about all that is good and beautiful about church. I asked her if I might share her words with all those who weren’t able to attend, so here you go:
As I thought about our theme for Stewardship this year, “More Than Enough – Recognizing Abundance”, I began to think of all the things I love about the Ascension and the ways God’s abundant nature has shown itself to me.
I love the people I’ve met and the friendships I’ve made.
I love the welcoming nature of our congregation.
I love the Bible studies and the way we are encouraged to ask questions and grow spiritually.
I love the children that come to Sunday school excited to learn about the Bible and what being a Christian means.
I love TLC and the way a delicious treat appears at your door when you really need reminding that you are loved.
I love the beauty of our sanctuary and the incredible music and flowers each Sunday.
I love hearing wonderful things about our day school in the community.
I love Lobster Fest and all the fellowship that comes with it.
I love the emphasis our church places on outreach and the way we positively affect those in our community through New Beginnings, Rice and Beans, and Food Boxes.
I could go on and on about what I love, but the point I want to emphasize is that most all of these things are made possible by stewardship – by our congregation giving of its time, talent and treasure.
We have been incredibly blessed as a Church and my hope is that each of you will take this season of stewardship to reflect on your blessings and make the decision to partner with God to continue his work here at Ascension.
With gratitude to each of you,
Mary Lee Yelverton
Remembering what we love about church, home, work, school, life in general helps us not simply focus on the good stuff, it helps us to be happier, more fulfilled persons. When we contemplate and verbalize all the things that are going well in our life, we begin to be less affected by all the things that aren’t meeting our expectations and stop allowing our sense of entitlement undermine the joy we find in all the things that do go our way, or better yet, contribute to making someone else’s life even better.
I agree with Mary Lee in that I could go on and on about all the things I love at CoA. But I will simply say this: I love getting to partner with God and all of you in building up the Kingdom in this place.
Light and Life,
Candice+