Pray it Forward, Love Always

1Thessalonians 5: 16-18
“Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.“

The Stewardship Team meets the first Sunday of each month at 9:30. Please contact admin@longlakeluth.org if you are interested in joining the Stewardship Team.

The Stewardship Team provides for the education and encouragement of good stewardship practices by encouraging the giving of time, talents, and treasures. Children are provided opportunities through weekly offerings that recognize their contributions to the Long Lake Lutheran community, their families, and their neighbors. The annual stewardship drive takes place each fall and includes activities that support good stewardship. 

Message from the Stewardship Team

As the warm weather subsides and cooler temperatures move in, we look forward to Thanksgiving and Christmas, thinking of all the gifts the Lord has provided and pray that we will serve as good stewards to all things bestowed upon us. For this year’s Stewardship Drive, we prayerfully thought of ways that sharing our time, talents, and treasures might go on to serve perhaps a broader purpose or have an impact beyond the initial actions we take. This led to a path of looking for ways and ideas that would allow us to pay it forward which very quickly evolved into Pray it Forward, Love Always.

You may be asking, “What does it mean to Pray it Forward, Love Always.” Well, here’s just one example: Have you ever been at the drive through of a coffee shop and when you pull up to the window you are handed your drink and are told that the person in front of you bought your drink for you? For those who have not experienced this, it tends to bring on an immediate sense of gratitude after a small second of confusion and wondering if you somehow know that person. This gratitude is founded in the thought that a stranger chose to be kind to you and you’re not sure what you did to deserve that kindness. You then become inspired. After a moment’s pause, you say to the clerk that you would like to pay for the coffee of the person who is next in line. The clerk smiles because they see that it is working. Earlier that day, someone chose to share their treasures with the person behind them in line. This sharing did not come with an expectation that the next person would do the same thing, though it often resulted in that. The cycle of kindness toward a stranger went on and on because the recipient of a kind gesture became inspired to Pray it Forward, Love Always. Everyone’s day started out being better than they were anticipating the day would be and perhaps that was carried on throughout the course of the entire day.

Imagine going to work and telling your coworker about this act of kindness. Perhaps your story inspired them to stop by their neighbors who they hadn’t seen in a while to see if they were okay. Perhaps that neighbor decided that the unexpected visit reminded them that they should give a friend a call, and so Pray it Forward, Love Always has taken a hold.

There are countless examples of how we can and do embrace stewardship by Praying it Forward and Loving Always at Long Lake Lutheran. We have been granted so many gifts for which we are grateful. Each of these gifts may look and feel different from one day to another. That is why we have chosen 1 Thessalonians 5: 16-18 which tells us to “Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”

Please join us over the coming weeks as we begin the process of settling in before winter is upon us and as we approach the celebration of our Lord bringing to us his only son, Jesus, in looking for ways that we can join together as good stewards of God’s gifts. Consider ways that your time, or your talents, or your treasures might serve as an inspiration for another to Pray it Forward, Love Always.

ADDITIONAL WAYS TO GIVE:

Time and talents: Offer up your time and talents to support activities provided by the church, join one of the teams/committees, or provide assistance to those in need.