Today is Stewardship Sunday and because of this special occasion you get two preachers! I will speak first, being the senior preacher here, to say a word about the material that we have prepared for you to take with you after the service. And then David Humphries, a longtime member of St John`s and member of the diocesan committee on the Residential School Settlement will say a few words about that other aspect of our stewardship; that is, our relationship as Christians with the aboriginal people of Canada.

Let me begin by saying that I have very good news for you this morning. The Stewardship Committee has discovered that we have enough money here at St John`s for all our needs and more. Indeed, we should be able soon to considerably expand the work that we do. This is very good news. The bad news is that a lot of this money is still in YOUR pockets.

This little joke provided our committee with a lighter moment in our many hours of discussion and planning over the past months. I want to thank our committee for all of their work: for Brian Cameron ( our chair), Peter Anderson, Barbara Dransch, John Gallienne, Martha Nixon, and Vicki Robinson.

I am pleased to introduce to you the very fine materials prepared for each one of you today. In offering these to you let me take a moment to share with you that being the Stewardship Committee is not an easy task. Let me describe some of the challenges.

1. Its hard to talk about money to a congregation as large and diverse as St John`s. Among us are people at very different stages of life and with very different financial capacities.

2. The Committee sees itself as primarily about education and not about balance sheets. The committee`s primary purpose has been to speak of abundance, not financial need; the abundance of the resources amongst as a human community and the abundance of God`s love for us which is the one and only purpose we get together at all. We always feel just a bit like we are betraying that abundance when we reduce it to dollars and cents. Being good stewards of all that God gives us is so much more than that. Our first mandate as a committee is to keep you thinking about this.

3. On the other hand, no one can be a good steward who does not recognize that money is a profoundly spiritual matter. As I have often mentioned Jesus speaks of it more than any other spiritual challenge. Money is about priorities, valuing, and power. It is about the temptations and opportunities of life. We all know in our hear of hearts that Jesus`comment that where your treasure is there will your heart be is true for all of us.

4. The committee wants to practical in its suggestions but must deal in generalities. We cannot possibly address the individual circumstances of each of you. You alone know what you have to give and what other obligations you have. And yet, it is important to keep before you all our budget needs. W e may be an institution made in heaven but our money is Caesar`s and Mammon`s.

5. Each year there are lots of new people at St John`s . Many don`t have the slightest idea how we operate nor what is an appropriate way to contribute. The material you will get today offers some very specific advice on this matter. We suggest what is called proportional giving : that is, 2.5% of gross income. Many here give much more than that but many more much less. If the entire membership gave that proportion of income we would have plenty to meet our budget and much more to expand our work. The fact is that 8% of members give over 50% of the budget.

6. We don`t want to be accused of talking money, money , money all the time. From my perspective this is not true at St John`s. It is true though, that unless we keep money needs before you we run into difficulties. Most of you belong to other organizations and you know that the problem is similar. I counted that I have received 20 appeal letters from the universities I have attended in the last 12 months. In our world, we have little choice but to compete for your attention.

So I commend the 2004 Campaign materials to you. In fact the envelope asks for two responses:

1. Your Pledge for 2004 budget



2. A request for your help to eliminate the 2003 deficit.

Please consider them carefully.

Let me finish my remarks by quoting from page 4 of the Stewardship Flyer:

There are few indicators in our lives that show more vividly what is important to us, than our day-timers and our cheque books. Do your day-timer and cheque book faithfully reflect your Christian gratitude and generosity toward others?