This year’s stewardship theme, Choose to Love: Lifting Up by Letting Go, challenges us to examine our choices in life.
Jesus tells us, “If any wish to come after me, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.” (Matthew 16:24) These words are not meant to frighten us or burden us. They are meant to help us think about our choices in life and to turn us toward a life shaped by love rather than self‑indulgence.
By denying ourselves, we create more space for love to grow. A few less cups of expensive coffee can become scholarships in Tanzania. An hour reclaimed from screens becomes time spent building relationships with our family or neighbors. An evening freed from distraction becomes an opportunity to volunteer or spend time of with God.
Stewardship is not about guilt or obligation, but about love made visible through how we choose to use our time and resources. When we choose to deny ourselves and to share, we are choosing to love our neighbors, our community, and the mission God has entrusted to us.
Together, we can generously and wholeheartedly Choose to Love!