This is the time of the year that we start to think about Stewardship. What is Stewardship? It is the giving of Time, Talent and Treasure. We often think of the first two, Time and Talent as the easy part. I suppose it could be, but there is one thing that I want you to think about. Here at St. John's we often see much of this going on, which is great. But what do you see? As I look around, I see many of the same people tending to Time and Talent. Fr. Steve, Deacon Sandy and I are very grateful and appreciate immensely those parishioners who are always there to help. Did you ever watch geese flying south for the winter? They always have a leader that takes the flock safely and securely to their destination. Watch them closely. Every so often the leader will drop back and the very last one in the group takes his place. What I propose is that those of us who have enjoyed the leaders sharing of Time and Talent, step up and give them a well-deserved vacation. I had a partner once that always said, if you do something once, it's your job for life. This shouldn't be. So don't be afraid, everybody has some Time and Talent and I look forward to seeing those new smiling faces.

The last part of the equation is always the part that we often have a hard time talking about, Treasure. What is Treasure? Treasure is giving back to God a portion of the blessings you felt God has given you. The Bible refers to this as a tithe or 10 percent of your earnings. When we teach this to children, we sometimes use the illustration of ten apples. Ten apples represents our treasure. Take one away and return it to God. What do you have left? That's right, nine apples to keep for ourselves. When we look at it this way it seems like a very easy thing to do, but in reality we cringe at the thought. The next question that might pop up is, do we tithe gross or net? Marilyn and I tithe what I take home at the end of the week. This is a personal decision that everyone needs to make on their own, and I'm sure if I'm wrong, God will forgive us. Many of us will say. I couldn't possibly do this. Let me tell you our journey. We started giving a very small amount and over the years we built up to 10 percent and it has become part of our lives. We did not do this overnight. Everyone has to make their own personal decision. I only ask for you to give what you feel God has given you! God bless and see you in Church.