Stewardship

STEWARDSHIP 2025

As we are entering into a new season in the life of our community, there can be a lot of uncertainty and a lot of questions. In this time, we are collectively asking who we are and what this community means to us. And one thing that keeps coming up for me in these conversations is joy—this community is a place and a people of joy and hope.

With that in mind, this year we are centering our time of stewardship in joy. We will be hearing throughout the season about how this community brings joy both to our members and stretching out into Greater Houston, and we will be talking about and thinking about how our pledges help contribute to that.

If you are new to the community or haven’t pledged before, welcome! We hope this season will be a chance for you to consider what you have found in this community and among these people and how you can contribute to that monetarily, as well as what parts of the church life you may want to contribute your time and talents towards.

If you’ve already been pledging, thank you for considering pledging again this year. Especially while our parish is in this time of transition, financial stability is important, as it allows us to continue ministry to show the love of Christ to one another and to those around us. I encourage you to continue giving and once again pledge your commitment to support St. Stephen’s.

During this season, we will be praying a collect we have written for this season of Stewardship and we invite you to pray that now:

O God of peace, our abundant provider who brings resilience in seasons of change, grant our community the courage to be generous in spirit, time, and resources so that we may continue to walk with one another in joy and to share Your love in the world; in the name of Jesus Christ who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

We believe in God’s sustaining power and love—and in the joy that it brings. The theme of this year’s Stewardship campaign “Come to You with Joy” comes from Romans 15, where Paul asks for prayer that he may be refreshed by joining together with his community.

Every time I am able to come to St. Stephen’s, I do so joyfully, and I pray that we are able to continue to come together with joy.

We hope that with all this in mind you will prayerfully consider giving to support

St. Stephen’s and the community to which we all belong here.

In gratitude,

Rachel Keener, Chair, 2025 St. Stephen’s Stewardship Committee