Stewardship

Orthodox Christian Stewardship is a way of life, which acknowledges accountability, reverence, and responsibility before God. A primary goal of Stewardship is to promote spiritual growth and strengthen faith. Becoming a Steward begins when we believe in God, to whom we give our love, loyalty and trust and act on those beliefs. As Stewards, we affirm that every aspect of our lives comes as a gift from Him. Stewardship calls on the faithful to cheerfully offer back to God a portion of the gifts with which they have been blessed.

Scripture is filled with passages of God’s call for us to be generous, loving, compassionate givers. The priority of compassionate stewardship is not to pay the bills. It is about how we, as a community, can do God’s work with love and compassion.  It is less about the parish’s need to receive, and more about our need to give. It is our generosity with the gifts and blessings God has entrusted to us.

An Orthodox Christian Steward is an active participant in the life of the Church. The church encourages all who accept the Orthodox Faith to become practicing Stewards. Each year the Steward is expected to carefully review his or her personal circumstances and make a commitment of time, talent, and treasure to support the Church and her Ministries.

How to become a Steward of the Church of the 318 Godbearing Fathers of Nicaea?

To become a Steward of 318 Godbearing Fathers, we ask that you fill out a commitment pledge card every year. 

You may do this by submitting an Stewardship Commitment Card.

Why Pledge

From 2021 the Holy Fathers of Nicaea is introducing the concept of pledging and is asking for pledges from members of the community. Pledging will be a new concept to many in our community and therefore we have put together some words of explanation:

What Is A Pledge?

A pledge is simply a commitment that we ask each family to make each year to our church. The commitment is in three parts: an amount of money promised to be given during the year; an amount of time promised to work on church activities; and the use of specific talents with which you have been blessed to aid the church. The pledge of these quantities is documented on a Stewardship Commitment Card each year that is submitted to the church.

Why are we asking you to pledge now?

There are several important reasons to commit to and fulfill a pledge. The first is very straightforward – each year the trustees of the community must make a budget for the coming year to be presented and approved at the Annual General Meeting.

The COVID-19 pandemic has made it very difficult for the church to budget as during the Pandemic we have not had a congregation so we have had to change our approach to fundraising.

The pledges received will serve as the primary source of income planning. As the ministries and expenses of the church are enabled by the church giving, the pledges will form the basis of planning for church activities in the coming year.

The second, and perhaps most important reason to pledge, is concerned with the individual. Giving, like attendance at the divine services, is an important aspect to our worship as Orthodox Christians. Should we miss a liturgy, our church family will take note and lovingly wonder why we weren’t there. In the same way, the Pledge serves to solidify our financial and time commitments, and aids us as a reminder should we slow down in fulfilling our promised giving.

The third and last reason to pledge is that it forces us to address this important facet of worship in a disciplined and thoughtful manner. As in every other aspect of life, when we promise something and fulfill it, we grow as individuals. Likewise, when we make promises to God – and fulfill them- we grow our faith and our confidence before God. We intuitively know the truth of St. James: “faith without works is dead.” God honours promises made and kept.

To pledge now please complete the Stewardship Commitment Card.