The S Word

Introduction

From time to time in this Sunday bulletin we will present the contents of the book by Archbishop Douglas Hambidge entitled “The ‘S’ Word”. These are actual passages from his publication.

“Mention stewardship! Tell the congregation that the sermon is on stewardship, and you’ll lose the congregation except the parish treasurer, who hopes you drum up a few more dollars to ease the pressure on the budget.”

What you will not hear is a rousing cheer when the “S” word is mentioned.

Why has this word had such a bad press? Why is it down there with others like “evangelism” and “work party”?

It is a long, sad story. In Canada, it began when all necessary funding came from The Church of England. When that was cut off and we were on our own, we had to raise money, and we called it stewardship.

Personally I had little more than pocket money as a stipend. The use of all my time was at the pleasure of the vicar, and as far as I knew I had no particular talents of which to boast, so little thought was given on my part to stewardship of my time, my talents or my resources.

It was the Dean of the diocese who wrote to me, reminding me that the “Every Member Canvass” was only weeks away, and, “Are you prepared for it?” I discovered that sometime in the month of October I was to gather a group of laymen who were to visit everyone on the parish list and ask for financial support for the coming year. They were armed with next year’s budget and a pledge calculator, so parishioners could discover what percentage of their income they were planning to give to the church. Off went these noble souls---I would describe it now as “Mission Impossible” ---and some where never seen again. The anger level of parishioners increased while the income did not. All this in the name of stewardship.”

Taken from The ‘S’ Word by Douglas Hambidge - Revisited by Dudley Ritchie

To be continued next week.