A message from your Interim Rector 8/18/2026

What does discernment have to do with ministry?

We are each asked to pray about how we will support St. Catherine’s with our time, talent, and treasure. This Sunday. August 23^rd, we will offer a ministry fair between the services and after the 11 am service. We do this to help us see all the opportunities that we have to live into our baptismal vows. This season of discernment is not just about our financial pledge or tithe. This season of prayer and discovery is about what we offer to God - “ourselves, our souls and bodies”, is the line from one of the Eucharistic prayers in the prayer book. We are not asking you to make a quick decision, we are inviting you to prayerful discernment.

We are invited to align our will with God’s will and then offer to God those gifts that God has given to us. Gifts of family, friends, life, joy, hope, grace, a place to live and food to eat; just to name a few of our gifts from God. Make your own list of gifts you have from God and give thanks to God in your prayer time.

Money is not everything we are called to give. Actually it is the last thing we are called to give. The first thing we are called to give is our time to God. Yet, that is usually the one thing we don't want to relinquish. Committing time to be with God and honoring our baptismal vows may be the hardest part of our lives as Christians, because we live in a pagan world. It is no longer the norm to be in church every Sunday. It is no longer the norm to expect that we love our neighbor and give of ourselves to others. But as Christians, we are called to a different way. If we commit to the gift of Sunday worship as our offering to God, we no longer have to make a conscious choice. The decision has been made - we will honor God with the gift of our time and our presence every week at Christian Education and at Worship. If you can’t imagine devoting a whole day to God, start by making sure you devote time to weekly worship and then gradually expand the time you devote to ministry and service. Perhaps you also try to refrain from activities that require others to work on Sunday mornings, it may be inconvenient but it sends a message. 

Each of us has been asked to pray. We are asked to assess what treasures of time, talent and money we will offer to God's service. Come to the ministry fair and see all that St. Catherine’s offers to God and discovery what you might find God calling you to do. You have gotten a letter in the mail with a commitment form for time, talent and treasure Continue to pray about how God is calling you to ministry. Consider how you will commit your time to offer praise and worship to God, commit your time to the work of God's kingdom, and commit your treasure both talent and money to God's work in the world through this parish.

Over the next 6 weeks, pray about your commitment to ministry and mission; then complete a commitment form for each older teen and adult letting us know how you want to serve. Faithfully select those areas where you want to be of service, for some it will be participating in youth group or attending worship or serving as an usher; for others it will be outreach ministries supported by St. Catherine’s. Whatever you plan to do, simply complete the form and put it in the offering plate and we will offer it to God and ask God’s blessings upon our work. All the ministry commitment forms are confidential and go directly into the safe and then are seen only by God and the person inputting the data into our system. We will provide a list of ministry volunteers to the chairpersons/leaders of each ministry so they can incorporate you into the work you want to do.

May this season of discernment but filled with God’s gifts of joy, wonder, and hopefulness. 

Mother Pat+