November is also time to think about personal stewardship—individually or as families, we look ahead to consider how to faithfully manage our resources in the next year. We have many concerns, including housing, food, and utilities, and we may also be making plans that celebrate the richness of this life we’re given: a family vacation, a weekly dinner out, a movie date with a spouse.

The church, too, is in a season of both thanksgiving and stewardship. In rhythm with the world around us, we consider what’s next and how to fund it—with our prayers, our presence, our gifts, and our service—and we also take time to gather together and to notice our blessings. I invite you, as you consider both your church and your family budget, to hold these two things together: thanksgiving and stewardship.

Supporting the work of the church means supporting our lives together—the worship, the fellowship, the mission—and giving thanks for it. The two impulses—stewardship and thanksgiving—are not actually distinct. In thanksgiving we acknowledge that the gifts are from God, and in stewardship we open our hands in gratitude, grasp the gifts a little less anxiously, and acknowledge that it’s all already God’s.

And speaking of giving thanks, before I close I want to give many thanks to Kay Fowler and all of the women of the M&M’s group for a delicious Harvest Dinner! I loved getting to meet more of the people who have been touched by McKnight over the years, and look forward to seeing you all again.

Onward in grace,

Becky

Prayer

Holy God, giver of all good gifts,

We come to you in thanksgiving for our church community.

We thank you for the people with whom we have worshiped,

With whom we have grown in knowledge of you,

With whom we have celebrated and grieved

and laughed and eaten and listened.

And we thank you, that while

families and communities change over the years,

Your presence remains constant.

We thank you for bringing us together in this church.

We offer this life together, this gift you have given us,

back to you.

Help us to live in awareness of your boundless generosity,

And helps us to share that generosity

with each other, and with the world around us.

Amen.