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Stewardship

Why we practice Stewardship?

We believe giving is a spiritual practice. It is a protest of the narrative of sacristy and an act that affirms abundance. The Biblical narrative points to abundance, when a hillside of people stand hungry before Jesus, he doesn’t send them home he invites them to sit down and share and we call it a miracle because the sacristy narrative is so hard to over come that we would prefer manna from heaven over the possibility that thousands of people saw a most vulnerable child give up his small meal of a few loaves and fishes and were inspired to open their baskets and do the same challenges us to the core.

Giving is a most challenging spiritual practice. It isn’t about commas and zeros, it is about intention and percentage. Generosity can not be measured by the worlds standards but by the heart. Every gift matters and no gift is a small gift at the Urban Abbey. We do not rely on one or two large givers to fuel our work and make our space open wide. We rely on each other and we celebrate each gift as sacred. We stand honored and amazed when people give of themselves in this way.

We are born out of generosity. The gifts of the Annual conference, the collective work of men and women from across the state gave of their hard earned resources that we might exist. We took shape and form by the hands of volunteers that gave everything architectural designs and espresso machines and donated time for plumbing and painting. We are born of generosity and the work of many gifts and out of deep gratitude we are called to stand with those risk takers and give of ourselves.

How?

We practice stewardship through weekly worship, naming the difficulty of the practice and holding sacred space for this practice. We invite first time guest to join us without pressure of giving but to relax into the time as our guest.

We thank people for their first measurable gift and we share a gift in response. We send quarterly statements to express gratitude, update, invite, connect and share tax documents for the gifts we have been ever so glad to receive.

We have an annual pledge campaign each fall and intentionally challenge members and allies to plan their giving. We believe in planning and preparing to give. This is where giving has the most power and the chance to teach us the most as a practice. We invite people through stories, letters and social media to think and pray about their giving in terms of a percent. And in this annual cycle we challenge each person to consider growing their pledge by a percent.

We participate in Omaha Gives! and other campaigns to invite support from the larger community. To find those allies and friends that believe our work makes a difference and to give thanks that they would invest a gift to fuel our efforts.

We have special giving occasions like a Lenten giving practice that asks a member to try giving in with a new intention for six weeks to explore what it means in their life. We ask for special gifts for occasional special projects, like caring for a family in need or funding for our campus ministry.

We do not nickel and dime people for treats or coffee, we live into abundance with courage. We practice this as a community thought our cooperate giving. Every month we give 10% of our coffee bar sales, not profits, to a local non-profit. We make an investment in our community and it is a risky practice. It was hard to write the first checks and look at our own bottom line. But if we believe in abundance or at least practice living into it, we must take the risk.

Reflection:

As the early Methodists started gaining and saving, they became people with some means. They were a movement largely of poor people and through their personal transformation and through their work together, sometimes giving or receiving micro-loans, sometimes teaching people to read, sometimes offering health care or shared meals, they moved up the socio-economic ladder. They did not mind Wesley’s comments about earn all you can or save all you can but when Wesley said give all you can…that turned into a challenge they did not appreciate. Why should they give when they just started to gain? Wesley asked people to give it all, and some people left the movement. Wesley desired each of us to experience the power of generosity just like he asked people to take communion, read scripture, visit prisons or pray.

Giving is, I think, the most challenging spiritual practice. It is a challenge to everything every other voice says we should do. I remember thinking it was something my Dad did or people with lots of money….but not really something I could do. The first gift I made was to an Interfaith Peace Chapel in Dallas. It was 370 dollars. While I was in Dallas, I was entering a new phase of life and as a newly single person who had just lost 46 pounds, I spent a fair amount of money on shoes and new outfits. I am sure that 370 dollars was the most memorable about of money I spent during my time in graduate school. I made the pledge in a worship service and then I got home and I thought, “Oh my what did I do.” I followed through. It opened my eyes to what giving means. It challenged me to look at my credit card statements and my bank account and to read them from the outside in, what would they say about me? I valued stuff over my faith community. I valued stuff over my friends and family. I began a slow process of making change, and that process has taught me to give more. It has taught me that I have enough. It has taught me that if I care about something I need to put my time and money into it. It has taught me to share with other non-profits and campaigns and causes, and it has taught me to share my stuff and my space. To share my car and my home when it mattered to someone else. You see, I have learned that while giving matters to places like the Abbey, it is a practice that matters to me. Perhaps this is why Wesley relentlessly challenged the Methodists, rich and poor alike, to give. Perhaps he grieved that they had learned gain all you can and save all you can, but could not see or feel the real freedom of giving. Wesley asked people to give, not just 10% or a third or half but all. To really give all you can in all the ways you can.