Most of us are familiar with the classic “stewardship trinity” of time, talent and treasure. In the fall, nearly all of us focus treasure through our annual pledge campaigns. But do we place an equal emphasis on stewardship of our spiritual gifts? If you don’t, I would like to suggest that the season after Pentecost is a perfect opportunity to focus on “time and talent.”

When I was about 7 years old, my father taught me to swim in the ocean. I’d had the wind knocked out of me by an enormous wave that rolled me topsy-turvy in the sand and left me tearfully disoriented. My father, a former lifeguard and swim coach, determined that this was the moment to teach me to courageously approach the ocean with the respect it deserves.

When I was a young child, I was afraid of the dark. I had a Winnie the Pooh nightlight, and at bedtime we would turn it on, keeping my fear at bay as the darkness of the world settled around me for the night. As adults, we trade in our fear of the dark for adult fears, those places of fear and brokenness that can, at times, infiltrate our lives. 

Epiphany is the season of light. Eastern religions aim toward a spiritual state of enlightenment. Christianity calls it illumination.

Standing in a dirt road in Kajo Keji, South Sudan, I am immersed in a surreal scene. There are no paved roads, no electricity, no cars, no internet, and no cell service.

Throughout time, humans have been obsessed with all things large and grandiose. In ancient times, the pyramids were the quintessential example of this, massive structures built to deify pharaohs.

My job was to ask grown-ups for money to support kids. Abused and neglected kids, to be exact, who had been removed from their homes and who were now in “the system.”

Every morning before 5 a.m., my great aunt Gladys rises to bake bread for the small island of Green Turtle Cay in the Bahamas. 

Recently, a couple in their late 30s informed me of their desire to get married.

What motivates generosity? Many things — commitment to a cause, support of a treasured community, gratitude. What about awe?

The gospel of Mark tells us about a rich man who anxiously runs up to Jesus and begs to know what he needs to do to inherit eternal life.

In church one Sunday many years ago, the stewardship chair was speaking about that year’s pledge drive.

Our theme for this year is rich with opportunity for broad conversations about generosity and transformation.