Stewardship Talk, Oct 15 by Jay Jones, Vestry member
Good morning, everyone. I want to talk about stewardship. A lot of people know who I am. My name is Jay Jones, and my family and I have been members of St. Matthew’s for ten years. When we started coming here, we sought a church home, a place to belong and contribute. You probably know my wife, Amy. She contributes her talents to the choir. She’s a musician, and she does very well.
I could’ve joined the choir, but I cannot sing. I can’t carry a tune. And this fact has been put upon me by my family many times. Like I could say that, you know, my singing is so bad. How bad is it? Okay, my singing is so bad. Autotune gave up on me.
I wanted to talk to you about how we approached stewardship. In 2015, Lynn Kiker approached me about taking over the acolyte ministry. She had been doing it for 20 years and had that ministry running like a machine. It was well run, but it was becoming physically challenging for her to keep doing it, so she was looking for someone to take it over. I was reluctant to do this because I’d never done anything like that. I also wondered if I could do it. I had reservations about sticking with one thing for 20 years. But I prayed, talked with Amy about it, and agreed.
It wasn’t easy at first. I was flailing around trying to learn what to do, but I had a lot of support. I had the families, the parents there who helped, and those acolytes who knew what to do. So, what I came out of that experience was that I learned a lot about acting, but I also learned a lot about myself.
We can all agree that personal growth is good, but to make that happen, you must be willing participants. You have got to make that leap of faith.
It was a scary time, but I eventually got used to it. And after three years, I said, okay, that’s enough. I’ve learned that I have other skills and talents to give. Today, I’m on the vestry board. I’m the youth liaison for the vestry. I’m also on the audio-visual team that’s live streams, worship, and other events. With this spirit, we also encourage our children, Katie and Ellie, to contribute. Katie is in college now, but when she was here, she was an acolyte, and she was with the youth group ministry. Ellie was also an acolyte, and she’s now in the youth ministry, too.
And I’m very proud of my girls. We watch them grow up here and come into their own, and they value friendship and always want to help. Amy and I worked to teach them these values, but being here at St. Matthew’s played a significant role. I’ve seen other children come through the doors here and watched them grow up. It’s been a gift to me to watch kids come in here crawling around, making noise and growing up and graduating high school and going to college, and some of them getting married and starting a family on their own.
As I said, it is a gift and a blessing, but like all good things, it takes work. We have created a community here at St. Matthew’s not just for the single purpose of worship, and worship is essential, but we also are here to fellowship with one another. As I was preparing for this talk, I searched the Bible to find a verse. One that stood out to me was I John 1: 6-7. It says, “If we claim to have fellowship with him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live out the truth. But if we walk in the light as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his son, purifies us from all sin.
That means that as a community, we have to work to make our community represent the teachings of Jesus. We can’t stand on the sidelines to watch. Thankfully, there are many roles here at St. Matthew’s for contributing time, treasure, and talent. The first is treasure, to pledge financial support to the church. The second is to give your time, and the third is to give your talent. To volunteer, to help out, to be there.
The return on stewardship is not a very finite thing. But I have come to think of it as making a positive impression, especially for our young people, that helps them navigate life as they grow up. You can’t quantify it. But you can see it when you talk to someone who grew up here at St. Matthew’s, and you pick up that spark. You can see it.
That is because of who we are. In stewardship, we support the community, which means we support each other. I recall an old newspaper saying that I think applies to what I’m talking about stewardship, especially with young people: “It’s not the splash that you make but the ripples that count.” Being here at St. Matthew’s and bringing up our children has benefited us. But you have to get involved, and you have to make it happen. Through your gifts of time, treasure, and talent, we are living Jesus’s teachings and making a difference. Thank you.
Jay Jones
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Stewardship Talk #3, by Oscar De Leon, October 8, 2023
Good morning, The Lord be with you!
For those of you who do not know me, my Name is Oscar De Leon. I have been a parishioner at Saint Mathew’s for about 15 years.
Saint Matthew’s is the only church, and religion for that matter, that I felt like I belong.
I am 58 years old, and for most of my life I was searching for a place where God’s message was one of love, belonging and compassion instead of condemnation and eternal suffering.
I would like to talk to you today about giving… but giving because you are able to balance your life experiences and, in your thankfulness, you balance your giving of treasure, time and talent.
Like many of you, I have had good times, actually, great times! and bad times, I have had moments of sheer desperation not knowing where the next payment for my rent would come from.
I am not proud to admit that I have never been a good administrator of my finances. You see I lived in New Your city during the AIDS pandemic. I would go to several funerals in one week, so I never though I was going to live long… so, every fun activity, concert, dinner, trip, show, record, movie, collectibles, gift I wanted to make, they all had precedent over my responsibilities.
And so, my life was never in order when it came to my finances.
I met great people along the way, that I know God put in my path to teach me about abundance and the promise that he would be watching over me throughout my journey.
As I look back, I realized that the basic needs I needed to thrive were always met. I never went hungry, I was never homeless, I was clothed… even looking back as when I was in High School, all my father was able to provide for the school semester was 2 pants and 3 shirts…
That still was more that many other had.
Through the years I saw abundance like nothing I could ever dream of…
I also did not know how to handle it…
At one point I thought I bought a house in Puerto Rico. It was always my dream to have a house to go back to, something that was mine… and it was my cousin who was selling it…. So, I gave him the 20K…and he kept the house… or my friend from college that borrowed 40K (from my 401K) … and never paid me back.
Lost a cousin and a friend… and 60K!
Lessons learned… expensive lessons, but all along I was missing what was really happening… I was also providing time and support to friends and family members; I was learning about what really mattered. I was learning that money was not all.
I was learning how, in the middle of that desperation when someone you trust betrays you…. God does not… God did not.
Every time I looked back, my basic needs were met… my journey was enriched with the lessons to share and most importantly with multiple ways to give back.
As part of Saint Matthew’s, I learned about the importance and necessity of sharing with God’s community your treasures, your time, and your talents. I was not very clear about how these three gifts are always revolving and balancing themselves. I started to share of my treasures, and many times it was a struggle but it was always fair. I was not understanding that in my time and talents I was also giving, contributing.
Today the percentage I give, I balanced with my contribution to causes that are in my everyday life, to ways God is guiding me to share his glory. And I have been, multiple times, a recipient of his great mercy and glory.
I would like to share with you what happened to me about six years ago.
I had retired after 26 years of service and…and within 4 years,
I had exhausted all my retiring funds…
I had lost a lot of money, as you I told you before.
I was baking cakes and doing catering to make ends meet, I was unemployed.
One of those desperate days, I received an email from a company that was offering me $400 per week to have my car wrapped with and advertising banner.
The offer seemed legit.
I filled out a questionnaire, send in my application and they accept it!!! I was so happy. $400 for driving around seemed like a no brainer.
They let me know that they will FedEx a check to my house so I can pay the company that will wrap my car.
The check came.
Fed ex,
return address,
a real check,
over 3 thousand dollars.
The instructions were clear. “Call us a soon as you receive this check”.
I did.
The gentleman explained that they will pay me the first 3 weeks of advertisement but that I had to pay the company that was doing the wrapping…
He insisted that I would deposit the check in my checking account, go the next day and retrieve the money for the company that was doing the wrapping and keep the $1200.00 that were mine.
Oh, what a joy!!!
To make this more special, the next day was Ash Wednesday.
My dear friend Cindy Bateman, called and ask if I was going to Ash Wednesday service, I said, joyous! YES!
She asked if I wanted to go to lunch with her after the service. I said yes but, “we need to be close to my bank, because I had to do a very important transaction”; and she agreed.
We went to a restaurant close to my bank… and as God planned it, I could not contain my excitement so I share with Cindy my new exiting found venture as a walking advertiser…
As I am explaining the details of this opportunity to Cindy, she seemed more interested on her cell phone than on what I was saying until I started to notice her face changing shapes and suddenly looking at me with that “Oh you poor thing, bless you heart” kind of look.
She simply showed me the phone.
Every step I had gone through was written there…
One of the latest scams… people will get the money out of their account and deposit it to the supposed wrapping company’s account. By the time the check bounced… you were already wrapped in an over drawn account that you were responsible for… I cried!!!!
Since then, I was blessed, to find a new path… got the opportunity to become a medical interpreter and now I do the best job I have ever had. And while my time is not as free as it once was, I do not struggle much to share my treasures.
The Lord works in mysterious ways; I am proof. Listen, pay attention to the lessons. Be thankful and with joy balance your gifts, your treasure, time, and talent.
God bless you.
Oscar De Leon
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A Day of Divine Blessings, and a Cast of Furry (and Not-So-Furry) Characters
St. Matthew’s hosted over 50 people and a menagerie of 29 dogs, 5 cats, 1 lizard, 1 python snake, several stuffies, and photos of pets who could not attend in-“person”. The undercroft courtyard provided plenty of green space and safe space for such a wild group.
Father Tim, in his specially-designed stole, personally and divinely prayed over the individual animals. The non-human guests of honor were served treats which were meticulously prepared with love, and even the snake and lizard had a few veggies, also prepared with the utmost care. Humans from church and humans from the community chatted and laughed at the animal antics, all under the watchful eye of St. Francis, our patron saint of animals.
With blessings, love, and treats all around, the St. Matthew’s Blessing of the Animals was an event that reminded us of the quirky and wonderful creatures we share our lives with.
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Stewardship Talk #2, Given by Trisha Voiles, Senior Warden Oct 1
(Dressed as a pirate with cloak and pirate hat)
Did someone say there was a search for an Abundance of Time, Talent, and TREASURE here at St. Matthews???? Argh!
For those who do not know me by now, I am Trisha Voiles, Senior Warden of St. Matthew’s. I began coming with our family to St. Matthew’s in 1984, 39 years ago. I was a senior at Brookwood, and my parents were the ones in the family in charge of the giving of the Treasures. I volunteered with VBS.
After a year, I moved out, went to college, faded away from going to church regularly, and got married. Treasure was definitely NOT in abundance in those years. I remember counting pocket change to just get gas to get to Snellville to my teaching job. I got involved with our ECW, Episcopal Church Women, and got hooked giving much of my Time and Talent. Although it wasn’t a great abundance at first, the more I was able to give the better I began to feel about myself, and the abundance of Love from God as He sent it through the Love of our Church members. I began getting involved in VBS, Christian Formation classes, and helped with breakfast between services. I was Sunday School Superintendent and Youth Group Parent Team for a few years. I was ECW President for almost 20 years. Now, I have Vestry and Senior Warden. My children were involved in Christian Formation, youth choir, VBS, Acolytes, Youth Group, Talent Show, and were my shadows for many years, especially after my divorce. We did not have an abundance to give in treasures, but we gave what we could every year. I increased my percentage of giving each year, even if the increase was just a few extra dollars at first. I circle where I am on the proportional giving chart and see if I can make a jump to the next step or two.
Now for today, although Jim and I have had two bittersweet losses in recent years, God has blessed us abundantly. We are able to help where we can with Time, Talent, and Treasure now. The treasure may not be the overflowing abundance, but it has increased from the long ago days counting the coins. If you are just starting out or are in a place of less than treasure-ly abundance, I would like you to prayerfully consider what you do have to give. Consider helping in a new ministry you have been thinking about, if you have been in a ministry for a while, consider taking on a leadership role in that ministry. Encourage your family members to get involved in ministries. Even if you can only give $1, 5, 10, 20, or just two coins a week, you can add that on the pledge card in the envelope. Only our treasurer and financial secretary see any of the giving cards. These are between you and God, a promise that you can help in any way you can. On the front of the card you can list your treasure. On back of the card, list areas you do– or would like to– spend some Time and Talent. I wrote my name on the Ministry card, checked my ministries, and added that in my envelope. If you’re filling out the card for your family, you can put the initials of each family member also by the areas of their involvement. You can return the envelope in the mail, on one Sunday in October in the offering plate or bring it up to the basket on the altar, or put it in the slot in the office door. We would like to have them by Sunday, Nov. 5th.
Right now, I would like to call on my crew, Fr. Tim, The Vestry and Finance Committee, to join me in Surrendering our Stewardship Envelopes. We have all been blessed with our Abundance of Areas we can help serve St. Matthews. We cannot do our jobs without YOU! We would like to encourage you to prayerfully listen to where God is leading you to put your Time, Talent, and Treasures in order to help St. Matthews share our abundance of Love with each other and the community. I promise you, YOU won’t regret the abundance given in return! Thank you! Trisha
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St. Matthew’s Day Mattie Awards & Photo Gallery
What a wonderful St. Matthew’s Day! Thank you to the Fellowship Committee for a delicious Taco Bar Luncheon, and to members of the Communications team for their work on the Flat Matt slideshow! Thank you to all who attended the lunch and service today!
Flat St. Matt has traveled the world this summer! The first annual Mattie Awards were awarded at the lunch: 3rd place to Nancy New, 2nd place to Mona Livermont and Carolyn Coil, 1st Place to the Roca family.
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Stewardship Talk #1 by Terri Hurst, Stewardship Chair
9/24/23 Given on the Feast of St Matthew’s
Today’s Gospel reading, short and sweet, tells of Jesus calling Matthew to follow him. It was shocking – Matthew was a tax collector, reviled and distrusted by most, but Jesus saw in him something that no one else did. He recognized that Matthew had gifts that only he could offer His ministry. Just imagine if he had not. Or, worse, if Matthew had said “no” to Jesus’ call. The world would have missed out on his witness to Jesus’s ministry and we’d be celebrating a different parish namesake on a different day.
It’s one of the common themes of the Bible – God using unexpected and decidedly unaccepted people to accomplish His purpose here on earth. In fact, most of the main characters in scripture are not your Hollywood hero types. Isn’t that good news for us? There’s a comfort in knowing that I don’t have to be rich or famous or beautiful or exceptional to be used by God.
There’s a challenge in it, too. Since God uses common people to do His work, we have no excuse to say “no” to His call.
The only requirements are that we have a willing heart and an obedient attitude. And if you’ve ever spent time with a toddler, you know that that’s not really human nature. If we’re honest, we all can be toddlers on occasion, which is why we need the Holy Spirit to nudge us into action and to discipline us. Sometimes I picture the Holy Spirit as Jiminy Cricket sitting on my shoulder and whispering in my ear.
You could spend hours digging around in scripture for stories of unexpected heroes – although I don’t like to call people heroes since God is the hero of the Bible. I encourage you to do that, but for now I’ll just highlight a few.
The little boy in Matthew 14 who gave up his lunch so that the multitude could eat. Two fish and five small loaves of bread miraculously fed a crowd of 5000 – and there were even 12 baskets of leftovers. God multiplied that humble offering into abundance, and even overflow.
The poor widow in Mark 12 who gave her last coin. Jesus praised her, saying, “This poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others. They gave out of their wealth; but she out of her poverty put in everything – all she had to live on.”
Mary, sister of Martha and Lazarus, who in Mark 14 broke open an alabaster jar and anointed him with expensive nard. Her extravagance shocked the others and demonstrated her deep devotion to her Lord.
The brothers Abel and Cain all the way back in Genesis 4 – Abel kept the flocks and Cain worked the soil. Abel offered the fat portion of some of the firstborn of his flock, and the Lord looked with favor on him and his offering. But Cain only offered “some” of the fruits of the soil and “on Cain and his offering the Lord did not look with favor.” Abel is a beautiful example of joyfully giving to God out of gratitude, while Cain was a cautionary tale of what can happen when we give begrudgingly and with a stingy heart.
If you want a lesson on how to give joyfully no matter your circumstances, look at 2 Corinthians Chapter 8. Paul implores the church in Corinth to help the suffering Christians in Jerusalem. He brags on the churches in Macedonia, who were themselves impoverished. He says,
“Their abundance of joy and their extreme poverty have overflowed in a wealth of generosity on their part … They gave as much as they were able, and even beyond their ability … They urgently pleaded … for the privilege of sharing in this service to the saints. And they … gave themselves first to the Lord and then to us in keeping with God’s will.”
Those early Macedonian Christians are a powerful example of the dynamic and dramatic difference that God’s grace makes in the lives and attitudes of His people.
The bottom line is, God just wants us to give with a joyful heart, out of gratitude for all that He has blessed us with. Paul told the Corinthians, “For if the willingness is there the gift is acceptable.” He reminds us that through His abounding grace, God enables all of us to abound in generous deeds.
“You will be made rich in every way so that you can be generous in every occasion and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God. This service that you perform is not only supplying the needs of God’s people but is also overflowing in many expressions of thanks to God.”
Reflect on that last part. “This service that you perform is not only supplying the needs of God’s people but also overflowing in many expressions of thanks to God.”
That sounds a lot like our collections for the Southeast Gwinnett Co-Op. Or our contributions to any number of our outreach programs. Or giving our time and talent to serve the children of the community at Vacation Bible School. What service are you performing that is overflowing with gratitude to God?
As for figuring out how and when you can use your gifts to serve God, both here at St. Matt’s and beyond these doors? Well, you only need Proverbs 3:5, one of our other readings today. “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding.”
You don’t need to figure it out – God’s got it covered. You just need to get out of the way and listen for His call. And then answer it, of course.
And just like Matthew had gifts that only Jesus recognized? We all have particular gifts and it’s possible that we too have some that only Jesus knows about. This is the perfect time to prayerfully discern what they might be and how we might be able to use them for His glory, too.
Terri Hurst
Stewardship Chair
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Gettin’ Crafty with Sunny’s Kids!
Using crafts in Sunday school can be an effective way to teach Bible stories to young parishioners for several reasons:
- ENGAGING! When kids create, they are more likely to pay attention and remember the lesson.
- INSPIRES CREATIVITY! Children express their creativity while learning about Bible stories. They can personalize their crafts, which can make the lesson more meaningful to them.
- STARTS the CONVERSATION! Teachers can facilitate discussions while crafting, encouraging children to ask questions and share their thoughts. This promotes a deeper understanding of the lesson.
- INCLUSIVE! Crafts accommodate different learning styles and abilities, providing an inclusive teaching method for all children, including those with special needs.
- FUN for ALL! Children often associate crafts with fun and enjoyment. When Sunday school is enjoyable, children are more likely to want to attend and continue learning about the Bible.
Are you INTERESTED in BECOMING A SUNDAY SCHOOL TEACHER?
Being a Sunday school teacher is a critical ministry within a church community. It is a ministry of love and dedication. It can be incredibly rewarding to witness the spiritual growth of young parishioners and to be part of their faith journey. Sunday school teachers play a significant role in shaping the faith and values of the next generation.
At St. Matt’s, being a Sunday School teacher is not a full-time commitment! Rotating schedules and having the option to serve as a helper allows for a diverse group of volunteers with varying levels of experience and availability to contribute.
A Note about Planning: Not having to plan lessons can be a relief for some volunteers who may feel more comfortable assisting with established curriculum. However, those who are interested in creating lesson plans should also be encouraged to do so, as it can be a fulfilling aspect of teaching.
Interested in becoming a Helper? Please contact Mona Livermont or Cheryl Wheeler
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September is Food Drive Month
For the Month of September, we are collecting CANNED TUNA and CANNED CHICKEN. Please place items in the food barrels in the main hallway outside the parish hall.
Special Outreach Needs – Food Drive
The Southeast Gwinnett Food Co-op has asked all their supporting churches to hold a Special Food Drive in the Month of September. The state-run GNAP program (Georgia Nutrition Assistance Program) ended on Aug 31st. This program offered food products for purchase to all the food banks for pennies on the dollar. The co-ops will now have to stock their shelves by purchasing food wholesale. The co-op normally distributes 100 lbs. of food to the client households each month. That amount will have to be reduced to 40 lbs. The more donations the churches can raise will be a huge benefit to the Co-op. For those wishing to donate by check, please make the check payable to St. Matthew’s and put Food Co-op in the memo section.
Please support the food bank during this immediate need in keeping their shelves stocked!
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Youth Bear Witness at Camp Mikell Retreat
St. Matthews youth had their annual retreat at Camp Mikell, and it was amazing! The weather was hot, but the kids enjoyed learning about this year’s youth ministry theme, “Witness.” It is a noun for a person who sees an event take place, but it is also a verb – To profess Christ and proclaim Him. The group did Bible lessons on bearing witness and learned about the great commission and how they can bear witness and be witnesses in today’s world. Many thanks to our ministry leaders, adult chaperones, and program leaders, Jessie Hurst and Caroline Bowen, for making the weekend retreat successful.
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