2023 Stewardship Form
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Stewardship 2023 – We Serve the Lord
Beloved in the Lord,
“As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” – Joshua 24:15
As we close 2022 and head into 2023, I joyfully greet you with a verse from the Old Testament, from the time when the twelve tribes of Israel renewed their covenant with the Lord. Each year, we also renew a “covenant” with the Lord through our stewardship offering to our parish.
Our parish is guided by five core values: Love, Worship, Community, Learning and Service. Our parish loves to worship. We are blessed that our church attendance continues to grow. We have dynamic ministries for just about every demographic. Our parish also extends far beyond our four walls reaching thousands of people through our livestreaming of the services. Our parish loves to be in community. We continue to offer Bible studies, Orthodoxy 101 and a daily devotional called The Prayer Team. Our parish loves to learn. More people than ever are stepping up to help continue to offer services and ministries. We gave more in 2022 to charitable causes than ever before. Our parish loves to serve. All of this is possible because of you and your generosity. Thank you.
Even though it seems that the world is in a state of constant change, as we look ahead to 2023, the work of the Church – spreading the Gospel of Jesus Christ, seeking and saving the lost, and serving our fellow man – will never change. And the call to each Christian, that We Serve the Lord, will never change either.
This year’s Stewardship theme is “We Serve the Lord.” Joshua was the leader of Israel after the death of Moses. As he came to the end of his life, he knew that the people faced choices and temptations that could take them away from God. He made a bold statement, telling them, “As for me and my house, We will Serve the Lord.”
It is with the same boldness that we encourage you to make your statement of stewardship. A steward is a temporary caretaker, and all of us have been given things to take care of – our families, our homes, our talents, even our life itself. To Serve the Lord as a steward involves giving of your time, or your talent or your treasure. Some ways in which we Serve the Lord include taking care of someone or something in your home, in your job, with your friends, within our parish and within our greater Tampa community. To Serve the Lord no only helps others, it brings them closer to Christ. As you make your stewardship offering for 2023, please prayerfully meditate on the Bible verse, “As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord“ and consider how you can generously Serve the Lord in the world through your stewardship. The amount we offer is not the most critical thing. The spirit in which we give is. You may not be able to give what you gave in 2022 and that’s okay. Give what you can with a heart of gratitude and generosity.
Our parish is choosing the path that Joshua took in the Old Testament, we are choosing to Serve the Lord. We invite you to do the same. Please fill out the enclosed stewardship form with a pledge that reflects your desire to Serve the Lord, and return it to the office no later than December 31.
With love in the Lord,
+Fr. Stavros N. Akrotirianakis, Proistamenos
George Mitseas, Stewardship Co-Chairperson
Chris Kyrus, Stewardship Co-Chairperson