Prayer

In the Gospel today, we are told that Jesus took time out for prayer. Jesus prayed before all his major decisions. In spite of all the needs of the sick and the poor he took time to be alone with God. We, too, in spite of all the good that we do must do like Jesus – Take time to be alone with God, as Henry Nouwen wrote in his book Compassion: “Our prayer is in many ways the criterion of Christian life.” Prayer requires that we stand in God’s presence with open hands, naked and vulnerable proclaiming to ourselves and to others that without God we can do nothing. This is difficult in a climate where the predominant counsel is: “Do your best and God will do the rest.” When our life is divided into ‘our best’ and ‘God’s rest’, we have turned prayer into a last resort to be used only when all our other resources are depleted. Then even the Lord has become the victim of our impatience.

Discipleship does not mean to use God when we no longer function ourselves. On the contrary, it means to recognize that we can do nothing at all, but that God can do everything through us. As disciples we find not some, but all our strength, hope courage and confidence in God. Therefore, prayer must be our first concern.

Stewardship of Treasure:

A Progress Report

Three months ago our parish embarked on a program which, although new to our diocese, is used with great effectiveness by thousands of churches around the country. Each of us was asked to thoughtfully reflect on our blessings and personal situation and intentionally determine a financial amount we would contribute to PBOC in calendar year 2009. We started the Stewardship of Treasure Planned Giving program in order to more effectively plan, implement our parish budget, and fund future projects. We are delighted with the response we have received in this initial year of Planned Giving with almost half of our active parish families sharing with us their intended financial contribution. This is a major first step toward our goal of full parish participation. We are also pleased that so many of our parish families are taking advantage of one of the convenient electronic giving options. Organizations that specialize in helping parishes implement Planned Giving programs have told us that PBOC’s response in the first year of a Planned Giving program is one of the best they have seen. We are particularly grateful given these difficult economic times that many parishioners have elected to increase their support of our parish. Thank you to everyone who elected to participate in our Stewardship of Treasure Planned Giving program and to those who have not yet done so but plan to do so in the near future.

Diocesan Commentary:

The Office of Stewardship and Mission Advancement of the Diocese of Charleston supports the efforts of Precious Blood of Christ in promoting Stewardship at your parish.  Precious Blood of Christ Parish has been one of the most supportive parishes of our diocese ministries and causes. Your recent efforts in promoting the Stewardship of Treasure, as well as your previous efforts to encourage sacrifice of Time and Talent, are worthwhile appeals.  We encourage parishes to promote Stewardship and to challenge families to consider how they are returning to the Lord the gifts that they have been blessed with.  We look forward to working with and assisting your Stewardship Committee and your parish staff in your efforts.