My beloved spiritual children in Christ Our Only True God and Our Only True Savior,
CHRIST IS IN OUR MIDST! HE WAS, IS, AND EVER SHALL BE.
+
ON GENEROUS GIVING...
Jesus Gives His life for the Sheep
"The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly" (St. John 10:10).
We are already nine days in the New Year and we are blessed with new opportunities to express our gratitude to our Creator and to our Holy Orthodox Church.
We have spoken many times about what stewardship is and I feel the need to once again explain its significance and necessity to our local church. Father Anthony Coniaris provides his reflection: "Christian Stewardship is about becoming good caretakers of all that God has given us. God has given each of us special and unique gifts. And through Holy Scripture, He teaches us all that we have is a loan. He lends everything to us and reminds us that one day He will ask us to give a detailed accounting of what we have done with the gifts He has given us. His Eminence Archbishop Anastasios of Albania has noted that "we find ourselves by offering ourselves."
Have we learned the blessedness of generously giving to others of all we have?
He continues: "One day, a person complained to his priest that the Church and Christianity is one continual "give, give, give". To which the priest replied, "Thank you very much for the finest definition of Christianity I have ever heard. You're right, Christianity is all about a constant "give, give, give". God giving His Only-Begotten Son to the world to show His unconditional love. His Son Jesus giving His life on the Cross to forgive our sins and destroy death. Then our Lord's disciples giving all they had to make sure God's Good News of love was preached to all people everywhere.
They not only gave their homes and businesses but even gave up their very lives as Martyrs in gratitude to God! It is by offering our blessings back to God that He will be able to continue His forgiving, healing, liberating, empowering, transforming, loving ministry through the Church. For God, Infinite though He is, has chosen to work through us, through our gifts, to continue His saving work in the world today.
Your generous offering of treasure allows our faith community to grow physically and spiritually.
As important as your financial contributions, your commitment of time and talent not only supports the parish but helps you grow spiritually as well. As has been said, "To serve is a joy and a privilege, and in serving we grow spiritually. It is not enough for our love of Christ to remain hidden only within our hearts. It must be expressed outwardly as well. Please seek out ways to offer yourself to our holy church through our various Parish Ministries.
Thank you for your generous stewardship, your love offering to our beloved Saint Andrew parish.
With genuine love in Christ,
+Father George