Congregational Stewardship

Mike Bryant Turquoise fired wash basin and bowl

Poems of Nature’s Praise (2018)

By Betsy Schwarzentraub | March 19, 2019

Long light, waiting earth Golden rays sift through branches Oaks lift trembling praise. ============= Sunset washes woods Goldenrod to deep umber, Brushing creatures’ souls. ============= One by one dying, Golden autumn falling leaves Nourish coming spring. ============= Canada Geese wheeling toward earth in the cold, steely sky, their great wings outstretched to catch unseen currents.…

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Offering and Spiritual Growth

By Betsy Schwarzentraub | March 19, 2019

Celebrating the offering is a spiritual discipline. Offering is as much a faith issue as our prayer life and worship. It is a lifeline to a relationship with the One who offers us life and to have it abundantly. While cultural standards say the accumulation of wealth and possessions constitute success, Christian discipleship requires looking…

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Offering Prayer

By Betsy Schwarzentraub | March 19, 2019

Gracious and merciful God, We praise you as do the angels And all the heavenly host. We praise you as even all the Creation offers praise. In response to the call of Christ, we Give our lives to you. Even in this moment we celebrate the Love of Christ for us and For the world…

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The Power of Enough

By Betsy Schwarzentraub | March 19, 2019

The title of Lynn A. Miller’s little book speaks volumes: The Power of Enough: Finding Contentment by Putting Stuff In Its Place. Miller’s bottom line is this: “Contentment comes from putting stuff in the role that God gave it, and not letting it mean something God doesn’t intend it to mean.” In other words, “stuff…

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Ubuntu: Cooperative Community

By Betsy Schwarzentraub | March 19, 2019

Ubuntu: Cooperative Community A devotional writer from South Africa said there’s a Zulu word Ubuntu, which means “I am because we are.” He explained it by saying, “I am enabled and empowered, made fully human, because I am part of a family, a tribe, and a community.”1 He was reflecting on the disciples’ cooperative business…

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Caring from the Heart

By Betsy Schwarzentraub | March 19, 2019

Having explored the Bible’s connections between “heart” and “soul” in Growing Generous Souls, I was drawn to a book called Caring from the Heart: The Convergence of Caring and Spirituality, edited by M. Simone Roach. At first blush, this book and the Bible seem like an odd connection, but not really. It is written by…

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Prayer and Gratefulness

By Betsy Schwarzentraub | March 19, 2019

Prayerfulness is what counts in life, not individual prayers, says Benedictine Brother David Steindl-Rast. In Gratefulness, the Heart of Prayer, he says prayer is an attitude of the heart that can transform everything we do. We can’t be saying prayers all the time, of course, but we ought to “pray without ceasing” (1 Thessalonians 5:17),…

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Ways of Being or Constant Doing?

By Betsy Schwarzentraub | March 19, 2019

“Being is not rewarded in our society today. Doing is what counts,” says author Adele Ahlberg Calhoun.1 Just about all of us experience this pressure daily: the hurry; the worry; and the need to be productive, however it’s defined. So how can we enter into the triune life (as Calhoun puts it), enter into the…

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Center for World Thanksgiving

By Betsy Schwarzentraub | March 19, 2019

Who knew there was a place called The Center for World Thanksgiving? Not I! But it exists, in Dallas, Texas. Back in 1964, four Dallas businessmen started talking together about how the Ancient World had squares and community gathering places where people could look beyond themselves, devoting themselves to spirit and worship. They decided they’d…

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Prayer for Generous Living

By Betsy Schwarzentraub | March 19, 2019

Attributed to St. Ignatius   Lord, teach me to be generous, To serve you as you deserve, To give and not to count the cost, To fight and not to heed the wounds, To toil and not to seek for rest, To labour and not to look for any reward, Save that of knowing that…

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