All Things Great and Small: Sharing our Gifts

The psalmist says – “how dear to me is your dwelling place, O Lord.” (Psalm 84:1).

I give thanks for all the many hands who give of what they have to make St. Barnabas so special.

There are so many ways that our St. B. members give of their time, talent, and their treasure. Last Sunday as part of our parish workday, we worked together to change light bulbs – way up high on a ladder, we worked to clean the kitchen and our Sunday School classrooms, and fix broken chairs.

But this works also happens behind the scenes and as I look back on the last few months, there are so many other examples of people offering their gifts in love and service. Here are just a few examples of the ways people share of their time, talent, and treasure in our community.

Our termites, Bert Nelson and John Nolan helped build a porch railing for parishioner Kendra Lacy to make her home more secure. Each time she steps on her porch, she shared that she gives thanks for our St. B. community.

Kendra in turn gives of her gifts by leading our Wednesday morning prayer each week and teaching about prayer and spiritual practices in classes and small groups and in sharing the devotionals she writes about finding God in the natural world. (pic of Mon. prayer group)

Parishioner Allison Zieg, helped build us new garden boxes this summer as an Eagle Scout project, and invited our youth and friends and neighbors to help create a place to grow flowers in the coming year. Likewise our garden team gives of their time throughout the year to ensure that St. Barnabas is surrounded by flowers and is a place of beauty for so many.

Our altar guild joyfully prepares the altar each week so that we can gather in worship and be nourished in the Eucharist. Our choirs make beautiful music that inspires us and others. (Last spring our bell choir went to Church of the Advent to ring music for their worship service.) Our Sunday School teachers prepare lessons and activities so our youngest members can grow in their love of God.

And so many people give of the financial resources they have to help us live into our mission and share God’s love in everything we do. During this stewardship season, we give thanks to God for the blessing of our St. Barnabas community and consider how we might support our common life in the year ahead. One way we do this, is we invite our members to consider making a pledge, a commitment to give a certain amount of money in the coming year to sustain our church life. Pledges help our leaders develop a budget knowing what our members intend to contribute financially in the coming year toward our operating expenses in 2026 everything from our staff, to our utilities, to our program and outreach ministries. I invite you to pray about how God is calling you to give in the coming year and what you might pledge so that we can continue to share God’s love in big and small ways. On Sunday, we will gather all our pledges and lift up the gifts of this community and dedicate them to God’s service. I give thanks for all the ways that this community acts as stewards of God’s house and gives joyfully as a community of encouragement.

Blessings,

Jane