Stewardship

You shall love the Lordyour God with all your heart, with all your soul, with allyour strength, and with allyour mind, andyour neighbor as yourself.

Luke 10:27

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

Yes, indeed, we are caled to love God with our whole self, with our entire being, with all that we have in this life. In the Divine Liturgy we pray over and over again... Let us commend ourselves and each other and all our life unto Christ our God.

God does not ask for 1 percent, 10 percent or 50 percent, but for our whole life. That includes talents, time, energy and of course, our resources. So, the way we handle all of these is a good barometer of our spirituality because the way we manage our money, time, energy - all the gifts we received from God - indicates the level of our Christian Stewardship...of our love.

We give to God not out of a sense of duty, but out of something much higher. We give because we love. St. Paul writes: For the love ofChrist compels us, because we judge thus: that if One diedfor all, then all died; and He diedfor all, that those who live should live no longer for themselves, butfor Him who diedfor them and rose again (l Corinthians 5: 14-15).

When the love of Christ is the controlling force in our lives, it is easy to give sacrificially, to pray daily, to fast, to come to church every Sunday, to witness, to defend truth, to live morally, to forgive others, to help our neighbor. But when the love of Christ is not the motivating force in our lives, then all these actions become unpleasant duties. As love makes it easy for a mother to watch over a sick child for hours on end, so love counts it a joy for us to labor, to suffer, to give for our Master and God Jesus Christ.

In short, ifwe love much, we give much. Ifwe love little, we give little. Let us love God, His Church and our fellow brothers and sisters, by supporting our parish. Please complete the enclosed pledge form and mail it back to us or drop it off in the specially
marked box in the church hall. Our church cannot operate

With love in Christ,

Rev. Priest John Vass
Pastor

To Donate by Mail
Send
Check or Money order to:

Holy Trinity Russian Orthodox Church
1723 East Fairmount Avenue
Baltimore MD 21231