My Three Gifts

Stewardship 2011

We are in the midst of Stewardship Season at First Church with the theme which our Stewardship Chair, Greg Daniels, has articulated to you in letters you have already received. Stewardship is an opportunity for us to take stock of where we are in reaching out beyond ourselves in giving of our time, talent and our financial blessings.

This year’s theme, “My Three Gifts,” follows the image of the Wise Men coming to the baby Jesus bearing gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. Each of these gifts represents something very tangible and precious to the people who gave them. Gold representing the riches of the world, myrrh representing the precious oil used in worship settings to consecrated congregants to service beyond themselves and frankincense representing the incense that was burned to remind people of their spiritual devotion to God are gifts that we are using to help us in giving back to God a portion of what God has generously given to us.

We will use these three symbols during this season of Stewardship to remind ourselves of the God who continues to call each of us into the future. I hope you will use this time of spiritual discernment between now and the end of November to again dedicate or rededicate yourself to service to God.

Our theme will be celebrated in three ways throughout three consecutive Sundays:

Gold - November 13 Gold represents our financial resources. On Gold Sunday, we will each be invited to bring our commitment cards forward and placed them in a basket on the communion table.

Myrrh - November 20 In biblical times, myrrh was an important ingredient of sacred anointing oil. It reminds us of the need to reach out and minister to others. On Myrrh Sunday, the Sunday before Thanksgiving, we will bring the thanksgiving meal food we have been collecting to give to others. It will be thrilling to see our sanctuary filled with gifts for others.

Frankincense - November 27 Frankincense was burned before the Holy of Holies in Jerusalem's temple. It reminds us of our spiritual commitment to God. Our Frankincense Sunday (the first Sunday of Advent) we will be invited to make a recommitment to Christian discipleship and membership of First Presbyterian Church.

This is an exciting time to be a member of First Presbyterian Church, and this is the season when we make a commitment to our church which means so much to each of us.