Stewardship for 2027
no gift too small, NO OFFERING UNWORTHY AT THE WELCOMING TABLE
No gift too small, no offering unworthy at the Welcoming Table.
Bearing witness to and collaborating with the in-breaking kin-dom of God is the work of the people called Church. Many gifts move through the body of the church to make the work of the people, well… work… in this time and place.
Whether it’s our community meals program, our LGBTQIA+ outreach, pastoral care and worship for our church family, our participation in the Interfaith Climate Action Network, our hospitality to many recovery meetings, Festival of Worship in Word and Song at the Tabernacle, Christmas Pageant and Easter Celebration at the Ag Hall, we are on fire to bring the liberatory Way of Jesus to people who need it, right here on Martha’s Vineyard!
People give of their time and talents, and participate in beloved community making in the church and as the church in the wider community. Stop by the church on a community meals prep day or a mailing party day, and you can feel the spirit of gifting in the air– it is joy! Shared time and talents have that spark when in action. It can be seen and felt; it sustains the givers and the receivers, so that we may forget the distinction between giving and receiving as we simply participate.
And the truth is, financial support matters, too. There is no way around it, and no shame in it. The Welcoming Table needs to be maintained, staffed, supplied, and cared for, and this sustaining requires money.
So with joy and a passion to collaborate with God’s work in the world through the ministries of this church, we invite you to join us in the things that sustain our Welcoming Table. Make a gift today!
In gratitude and love,
FCCOWT
Are you interested in praying with scripture to explore the relationship between money and life? Here below are some commonly cited passages related to money and prayer seeds.
Consider: “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” - Matthew 6:19-21
Pray: Where is my heart and where is my treasure?
Consider: “No servant can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.”- Luke 16:13
Pray: How/Can I serve God with money?
Consider: “Owe no one anything, except to love one another; for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law.” - Romans 13:8
Pray: How may I keep love as my focus and priority today?
Consider: “No one can serve two masters; for a slave will either hate the one and love the other, or be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth. (Mammon.)” - Matthew 6:24
Pray: How/Can I serve God with my money (and other resources)?
Consider: “If you lend money to my people, to the poor among you, you shall not deal with them as a creditor; you shall not exact interest from them.” - Exodus 22:25
Pray: In the Beloved Community, who is my neighbor?
Consider: “A slack hand causes poverty,
but the hand of the diligent makes rich.”Proverbs 10:4
Pray: How am I to understand being rich? What is the currency of the kin-dom?
Consider: “The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which someone found and hid; then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.” - Matthew 13:44
Pray: How/Can I Invest myself in seeking God’s Way?