AM I A STEWARD?

            As many (or some) of you may know, I am the Christian Stewardship Specialist at the Upper New York Conference of the United Methodist Church. What does that mean?

            I thought I’d start by defining what a steward is. Merriam Webster says that a steward is “one employed in a large household or estate to manage domestic concerns (such as the supervision of servants, collection of rents, and keeping of accounts); a shop steward; a fiscal agent; an employee on a ship, airplane, bus, or train who manages the provisioning of food and attends passengers; one appointed to supervise the provision and distribution of food and drink in an institution; one who actively directs affairs : manager.”

            To steward is “to act as a steward for: manage; or to perform the duties of a steward.”

            So I think what this means, in its simplest form, is that we are stewards of and for God. That means that because “God created” (Genesis 1:1), we are tasked with caring for and managing those items that are of God for God.

            So, taking those definitions and that understanding, what is a Christian Stewardship Specialist? I think that means that I am tasked with interpreting, teaching and learning about Christian stewardship, and guiding others in the Conference and in the connection in that understanding. I create and lead workshops, writing blogs and articles, and teach classes. I am working on a booklet on ministry shares and have created a curriculum for training stewardship coaches around the conference.

            This is work that I enjoy, and a calling that I must answer to and follow?

            So, are you a steward too?

 

 

 

Feel free to contact me at sranousacctg@twcny.rr.com or susanranous@unyumc.org with any thoughts or questions.