Today I am writing about the last Quaker testimonial.  It is the second “S” in the SPICES acronym: Stewardship.

As I ponder this value for myself, it reminds me to truly be a steward of my own personal gifts and talents.  In addition, it compels me to give back and to seek to leave the world a better place.

What Stewardship Means to Quakers Today

For people in the Quaker faith, the meaning of Stewardship starts at the personal level.  From there, it expands to become more far-reaching.

According to the American Friends Service Committee, “Friends strive to use God’s gifts wisely, with gifts conceived in the broadest of terms. These gifts include our talents and our possessions, as well as our natural environment. Friends believe that such gifts are not ours alone. To Friends, good stewardship means taking care of what has been given, not just for ourselves, but for the people around us and for future generations as well. Friends strive to use their gifts in accordance with their beliefs.”

Within this broad view, stewardship pulls together the other values into one.  And so, simplicity, peace, integrity, community and equality can guide us to better our interactions and connections with all life.  Some themes that surface are walking gently on the earth and right sharing.

Walk gently on the earth – This translates to simple and peaceful living, being a steward of natural resources and putting the least stain on the earth in order to protect and care for the ecosystem as a revered and precious reserve.

 Sharing rights – With a view toward equality within our worldly community, living as a steward means justly sharing what we have.  This plays out in decisions about gaining and spending financial and other assets.  Stewardship calls us to avoid both materialism and wastefulness.  Rather, we give back in a way that can improve both our own lives and those around us.

Living the Testimony of Stewardship

Opportunities to live out the Quaker testimony of stewardship are all around us.  One of my former Friends Life Care colleagues recently joined a non-profit organization called The Water Project.  It is a charity that addresses the problem of water scarcity in many impoverished places across the globe.

Until I learned about this organization from her, I did not know that almost 1 billion people in our world do not have access to clean, safe water.  I frankly didn’t think about how lucky I am to have water readily available every day.  Like other resources, I took it for granted.  Knowing about this now makes me more intentional about this and other important resources.

Share Your Thoughts

As this post wraps up the SPICES, I welcome you to post your comments about aging in place,  stewardship or any of the important and life guiding values of the Religious Society of Friends.

Friends Life Care is a mission-driven Quaker value based nonprofit that — for over 30 years — has been helping older adults — especially Friends Life Care members — to thrive at home as they age.  If you are not yet a Friends Life Care member, connect with us and get the answers you need from one of our Plan Counselors on the benefits joining.  

Membership is open to people aged 40 – 85, in reasonably good health who are residents of southeastern Pennsylvania or Delaware.

 

Contributed by:

Joylyn Williamson, Inside Sales Manager

Joylyn joined Friends Life Care in 2017 as a sales manager and plan counselor on the sales and marketing team. She brings many years of experience with inside sales in both business-to-business and consumer.  Previously she held positions selling to vertical markets like the federal government and meeting tough sales quotas for technology and IT offerings.  She is excited to be a part of Friends Life Care and appreciates working in an organization guided by Quaker values that has a mission to serve older adults.

Originally from Southern California, Joylyn has called the east coast home for over 20 years. A couple years back, she relocated her father from California to her home in Pennsylvania.  He’ll be 90 in June and she now manages his care as he has a diagnosis of Alzheimer’s. He is her favorite person; and she finds it an honor to care for the man who once took care of her.

Joylyn earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Drama, TV and Film and completed some graduate studies in Communications at Regent University. Joylyn volunteers with a local theatre company performing onstage or working behind the scenes.