Stewardship

Greetings from your new Stewardship Commission as together we look forward to getting past this pandemic and returning to some sort of the “new” normal.

The Bible teaches that a steward must be someone that can be trusted to care for things that are important or dear to their master. Stewardship includes wise management of our treasure, time, and talents so that we can use these things in service of the Lord for the benefit of others.

Okay, so what is the Stewardship Commission all about? First of all, we are about helping all members of our Parish family to feel truly part of our Emmanuel family and to help each member to find their niche where they can find ways to contribute their time, many talents, and their treasure to our parish. Therefore, above everything we are about caring for our parish and helping everybody to feel welcome and at home. We do this in many ways beginning with Welcomers, who greet each person as they arrive at church each Sunday and make a special effort to welcome newcomers into our parish. The following are responsibilities of the Stewardship Commission:

1. Conducting education for all parishioners on the broader meaning of Stewardship – how we use everything (time, talent, and treasure) that God has given us.

2. Integrating new members into the parish through:

a. Coordinating the Welcomers, a group of dedicated Christians who meet and greet newcomers and visitors on Sunday mornings and make follow-up contact with prospective new members of the church.

b. Conducting periodic newcomer forums, a gathering or series of gatherings for newcomers, to introduce them to the life and activities of Emmanuel and inform them of the many ways available for them to use their time, talent and treasure.

c. Coordinating the Cookie Bakers, a ministry of volunteers who bake cookies to be given to newcomers on Sunday morning.

d. Maintaining the literature table in the narthex with updated information on Emmanuel, including the Welcoming brochure, the Epistle, and name tag information.

3. Developing initiatives aimed at using the time, talent and treasure of existing parishioners to draw more people into this community of faith at Emmanuel by sharing the joy and power of life in Christ.

4. Coordinating the annual ministries fair that highlights the opportunities available for all parish members to make use of their time, talent, and treasures.

5. Planning and executing the annual fall every member commitment campaign to support the operating budget of the church.

6. Overseeing and updating the “Faces of Emmanuel”