Stewardship

STEWARDSHIP

 [I]t is required of stewards that they should be found trustworthy (1 Corinthians 4:2).

When we speak of “the Diocese,” we are referring to the collectivity of parishes, chaplaincies, and other communities across the geographical area of Huron as well as the administrative functions that enable our overall mission. People, places, and property constitute the Diocese. While we are far from the ideal of holding all things in common (Acts 2:44-45), we do try to conduct our common life according to the Great Commandment:

 “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.” This is the greatest and first commandment. And a second is like it: “You shall love your neighbour as yourself” (St. Matthew 22:27-28).

Another way of putting this would be with reference to St. Paul’s language of mutuality and order: Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it (1 Corinthians 12:27), Christ Himself being the head and animating force (Colossians 1:18a). As members of the gathered Body of Christ that is the Diocese of Huron, then, we are called to be stewards of those things held in common and those things individual to us. We are stewards of our inherited faith, spirituality, and Anglican common life. We are stewards of the inherited resources of the Diocese, including financial and real estate resources. We are also stewards of the painful inheritances and healing possibilities arising out of our own brokenness as well as that of those who came before us.

Stewardship not only suggests the care of the resources that we already possess, it also implies the development of those resources and the cultivation of new ones. In other words: fundraising.

And here there is a real obstacle that must be named: the worry (ours) and the perception (others’) that the Anglican Church does not have a future. The future of the Anglican Church is in the hands of God. For our part, we can faithfully and boldly proceed in our ministries knowing that with God all things are possible—while clearly expecting significant change and while faithfully enacting and demonstrating the essential value of Anglican communities within society. For us, prayer and active trust in God’s providence are essential. As stewards, we are simply called to be actively faithful in our practices. For others, the Acts and Actions of Turning to Grace may instill a sense of confidence in the future of the Anglican Church and the Diocese of Huron. What is needed is a set of strategies that will enable us, where possible, to reshape the Church for mission today and in the decades to come. This is urgent and difficult work, but in many ways it is now or never.

As faithful stewards, we want to encourage both impact and legacy. Considering the local impact and the larger-picture or longer-term legacy are two good ways to measure the effectiveness of our stewardship as it relates both to financial resources and property.

Stewardship also requires making choices. Turning to Grace aims to give all parishes in the Diocese of Huron imaginative pathways to see the future, whether that be to be strengthened and enlivened by new growth or the grafting on of new shoots (Romans 11:17), or whether it be to fall to the ground and die and, potentially, with God’s grace, bear much fruit (St. John 12:24). We encourage all parishes and particularly those that are struggling in terms of financial or human resources to take charge of their future and to consider prayerfully what sort of legacy they wish to leave to those who will follow us in the Diocese of Huron.