Stewardship is an essential part of the exercise of our Faith and has always been a part of the life the Church of St. John the Evangelist, but as with every life, it has changed and developed with the passage of time. Up until 2005, St. John’s was the home of St. John’s Kitchen, which, in conjunction with the Kitchener Working Centre, served free hot meals to hundreds of people every weekday at noon. Eventually, the numbers of clients for this service exceeded our building’s physical capacities, and with our support, this service was moved to an especially designed location near-by.

Throughout the following year, the community of St. John’s organized and ran a series of meetings to discuss our sense of mission and develop a refreshed focus for our church. These conversations were open to all and were carefully recorded and reported to the entire parish. The most recent and comprehensive of these reports, entitled “Stepping Out In Faith”, is available for all to read. It lists five main areas of our parish life that we intend to work on together: Faith and Worship, Hospitality, Being an Inclusive Community, Ministering to Children and Youth, Using Our Building to Express Our Faith. Each of these areas includes many specific recommendations, and work began on them immediately in April, 2007.

At our Annual Vestry Meeting in February, 2008, it was evident that our vision would require a renewed commitment to stewardship by every member, and so a Stewardship Committee was organized. This committee, chaired by Frank Millerd and Jennifer Uttley, and including seven other members, developed a plan that would consist of a telephone call and a visit to every member of St. John’s by one of a group of specially commissioned Visitors. During the last week of May and the first week of June every member was asked to complete a commitment form indicating their intended offerings of time, talents and financial support. In particular, members were urged to use the pre-authorized giving option that is available to anyone who has a regular bank account.

These commitment forms were completed and returned in sealed envelopes and presented at the Offering during the Worship Service on June 8 by the Visitors. The Parish Administrator, Susan Hammer, recorded this information and reported to the Stewardship Committee that a total of 248 contacts were made and 122 commitment forms were received. Pledges of financial offerings increased by 15%.

In addition to financial offerings, the commitment forms that were returned also included information about offerings (and suggestions) of time and talents. This information was carefully considered by the Stewardship Committee at their July 14 meeting and is most encouraging. Briefly, it is evident that St. John’s is blessed with a generous pool of talented people who are contributing is an abundance of ways to the life of our Faith. The Stewardship Committee will be sending out thank-you letters, reporting to Parish Council, and communicating with everyone through announcements and articles in On Eagles Wings. They will also be contacting all members who indicated an interest in assisting existing or new ways of furthering our work as expressed in our statement of our goals in “Stepping Out In Faith.”

Stewardship is an essential part of every Christian life and St. John’s programme, coordinated by the Stewardship Committee, will be on-going, and will seek the continuing support of all who cherish this place as source of spiritual strength..Every blessing that we possess comes from God, and our offerings to the Church are an indication of our awareness of that and our gratitude.