THE PASTOR'S CORNER FOR FEBRUARY, 2022

SHARING OUR
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TIME, TALENT AND TREASURE

Pastor Kim asked me to contribute to this month’s newsletter by answering the question “Why do you give of your time, talents and money”. This assignment put me in mind of my school day essay writing; so I pulled out my index cards and wrote 1 thought on each card, arranged them in a reasonable order, and voila, here it is.

My time and talent is pretty specific. I’ve always been a detail, numbers-oriented person as shown by my work career being mostly in finance. However, I would not have thought to volunteer as Church Treasurer. But God has a sense of humor and knew how to point me in that direction. At one Ad Council Meeting I made the “mistake” of saying I did not understand the Treasurer’s Report presented and then made some suggestions. Eyes lit up because the current Treasurer was looking for a replacement and I was asked if that was something I felt called to do. Six years later, I’m still in position and feel I have been blessed in return. The Lord knew I needed to keep my retired brain working. He also knew that even though the Church Treasurer position takes a lot of time, it fit into my schedule well as I could go in anytime to get the work done. With God’s “nudge” I feel I’ve grown spiritually by volunteering my time and talent.

How has my giving to the church filled my soul? When God wants me to be a cheerful giver, he starts working on my conscious. After I receive my annual “Giving Notice”, I make a copy of the card and fill out my next year’s giving. Then I wait. Sure enough, a voice is telling me, “Barb, you can do a bit better than that. You know through your work as Treasurer at church, that more funds are needed to meet the daily operating expense obligations. You know that the Church’s ministry is then able to grow and reach beyond when the foundation is firm.” I believe God expects me to give up to my ability. So, the original “Giving Notice” comes out and I up my commitment cheerfully.

I do the auto giving because to me it represents giving first and consistently to the church by being a faithful giver. In turn, I believe I’ve grown in my faith and trust in God to provide.

One last God story that goes along with the scripture Luke 6:38 “Give and it will be given to you”. After I retired I was really struggling with increasing my annual giving. The Lord was doing his usual talking thing; but I was telling Him, “Look, I’m retired and do not have as much spending money as when I was working. Would You be satisfied if I kept it the same?” Well, apparently not. I did increase my commitment that year and I tried for cheerful giver. A few weeks later I was notified that one of the companies I had worked for was going to give me a second unexpected small pension, which was more that I had upped my giving to. Good one, God!

– Barb Schorsch