United Church of Pittsford

Stewardship Testimonial by Dianne Newhouse

Ten of us in the congregation were called upon last spring to explore God’s will for our church;or should I say,
His church here in Pittsford.

I felt doubtfulthat I was wise enough for the responsibility
being placed on me, and I think others in the group felt the same,
but we had faith that God would show us the way.

We used the workbook
that had been recommended to us, studied the Bible, talked, listened, and prayed.

We celebrated all the wonderful aspects of the church that brought us to it, and that continue to bless
and regularly refill our souls.

At the planning conference,
in the spring, we were asked if this was a preference-driven or a purpose-driven church. We recalled that almost everyone thought we are a preference driven church.

We were also moved to believe that God would want his church to be a purpose driven church.

So our dilemma was: how to keep all the wonderful aspects of the church,and still become more purposeful, and mission driven.

We felt God calling us to make a significant difference in our community, but how could we ask people to do more than was already being asked of them.

If we got together more to read the Bible and pray, or if we did more to help those around us in need, how would we find the time and resources to do it all? What would we have to give up?

And how presumptuous it would be for us to suggest
what others in the church should do.

Why just changing the service time by 15 minutes had caused concerns and division.

We felt like we were wondering in the wilderness.

Then a couple of us felt a special calling to read “In His Steps”.
Soon, we were all reading it, having passionate discussions about what we could do.

It reminded us that we each must strengthen our own communications with God, to know what he would have us do.
And if we are looking for a role-model, there is no one better
to follow than Jesus.

This is not our church, we are God’s church!
Together, with all our varied experiences and gifts.
We are God’s church.

So, if we each ask ourselves at every decision,
“What would Jesus do?” we will move closer
to God’s will for His church.
We believe we need small support groups to help us each
walk in His steps
Some groups already exist, and others can be formed.
We have ordered many copies of this small book to get more conversations started.

We hope that the books will be here in time for the Church Fair
on October 28th, so we can share them with you.

Because we have been given much, we want to give.

We want to sincerely give thanks to God for the hundreds of blessings we receive each day.
We want to do more of the missional work that God would have us do.

We are not interested in forcing anyone to change, we are just searching, with others who are called to walk In His Steps.