Light shines in the darkness for the upright; *
the righteous are merciful and full of compassion.
It is good for them to be generous in lending *
and to manage their affairs with justice.
For they will never be shaken; *
the righteous will be kept in everlasting remembrance (Psalm 112:4-6).

Our stewardship campaign for this year is Shining our Light. “At its heart, stewardship is an invitation to journey into God’s abundance. And for most of us, the journey to generosity is just that — a journey. It is human nature to fear not having enough. Yet God’s story and our story collide and we experience something different. God invites us to taste and see what God is doing in our lives and to consider what God is entrusting to our care. In journeying to generosity, we are invited to become co-creators with God. When we move away from scarcity and self, we can begin to focus on what God has entrusted to us; we can see more fully how God is acting in our lives and in our world. In a culture that values our own enlightened self-interest over the needs of others, it is not always an easy journey, yet the gifts that await us when we truly step into community and into deep relationship with God are abundant.

“All of us are called to be stewards. We are stewards of God’s creation, stewards of our families, stewards of money, stewards of time, stewards of our churches, and stewards of the faith that has been handed down to us, the faith that so many generations before us have stewarded. As we travel with God, we begin to recognize those places in our lives where God is calling us, as God called the Israelites, to step forth in faith into new and unknown places. It can feel risky to let go of the familiar, the safe, the known. And yet, when we let go, when we invite God more fully into our lives, the journey cannot help but be one that transforms us, taking us out of our places of bondage, into new, generous and abundant life” (TENS). Psalm 112 speaks eloquently about our call to be merciful, compassionate, and to seek justice. This year our Stewardship Campaign will begin with several parishioners witnessing about what God is doing with their lives at St. John’s. Last week Dave Lasek talked about the wonderful community of St. John’s.

You will receive a pledge card in the mail this week and I ask you to prayerfully consider the gifts that you receive and ask you to give to St. John's on a proportional basis. If you have not received a pledge card yet, they are available on the table in the back of the church. We will collect pledge cards for the next two Sundays and bless them at the altar. Each week you will hear parishioners witness about what they love about St. John's. Please consider raising your pledge this year so that St. John's may continue to grow and flourish.

I am so grateful for you. Your faithful membership at St. John's and your generosity sustains our ministry and is a source of encouragement to me.

In Christ's love,
Fr. Duncan

Habakkuk 1:1-4; 2:1-4
Psalm 119:137-144
2 Thessalonians 1:1-4, 11-12
Luke 19:1-10