1. Spirituality of Parish Stewardship
Dr. Dolly Sokol
Office of Development
Archdiocese of Santa Fe

2. Duties of Parish/Finance Councils
To care for, develop and share parish resources
To assess and set goals for improvement and/or development of parish resources
To be accountable to parish and archdiocese for effective use of resources
To act humbly, charitably and respectfully toward all God’s people and all creation

3. Stewards What is a steward?
Steward cares for part of the home/household
Manages property that belongs to someone else; manages people hired by another
Poor steward – negligent, wasteful, uncaring
What’s the difference between an owner and a steward?

4. Owner vs. Steward Owner Steward Valid legal claim to something
No legal claim to anything
Exclusive rights to goods and property
No rights to goods or property
Belongs to the owner alone
Takes care of the goods or property/business of the owner
Trusts the steward; holds steward accountable
Respects the owner; is accountable to owner

5. Stewardship: God and Us
Owner of creation; creator of all
Stewards or caretakers of God’s creation
Giver of gifts, talents, time and resources
Sharer of God’s gifts, talents, time and resources
Holds us responsible for developing and using gifts
Accountable for the way we develop and use God’s gifts for others
Lovingly gives
Gratefully receives and shares

6. What is Christian stewardship?
Taking care of and sharing all God’s gifts
An attitude of mind and heart (like hospitality) expressed in action
A way of life for followers of Christ
An intentional, planned, proportionate giving of time, talent and treasure in response to God’s generosity to us
“As each one has received a gift, use it to serve one another as good stewards of God’s varied grace” (1Peter 4: 10)”.

7. Who is a Christian disciple?
One who responds to God’s call to holiness/wholeness by
Shaping one’s life in imitation of Christ – Paschal Mystery (dying to self to live for others)
Practicing stewardship of time, talent and treasure gives us opportunities to live the Paschal Mystery

8. Characteristics of a Christian Steward
Is grateful for God’s gifts
Is generous in developing and sharing gifts with others
Is accountable for his/her use of God’s gifts
Is willing to return gifts to God with increase
USCCB – Stewardship: A Disciple’s Response

9. Gratitude Attitude of gratitude Thanksgiving for gifts and blessings
Toward all God’s creation
Human life, living things, environment, etc.
Thanksgiving for gifts and blessings
Prayers of thank you vs. “gimme”
Morning/Nighttime Prayers, Meal Prayers, etc.
Eucharistic Prayer at Mass
Gratitude is our response to receiving gifts from God
Moving away from our hurts and wrongs to thankfulness for what we have been given
How can we become more grateful – as individuals, families, parish and archdiocese?

10. Responsibility and Accountability
For the use of all our gifts
How do we use our time?
How do we share our talents?
How do we invest our treasure in the work of God’s church for the sake of building God’s kingdom?
To whom are we accountable?

11. Generous Sharing Giving without asking “WIIFM”?
Vision of the Kingdom of God – just distribution of world’s resources
Dead Sea and Sea of Galilee
Images of taking and giving
How can we encourage and invite people (starting with ourselves) to be more generous?

12. Return with increase
“What did my (God’s) investment (gifts) in you yield”?
Grow and develop our gifts
Recognize gifts of others and call them into service of God’s people
Bring out the best in others
What are some appropriate ways to express our willingness to give back to God with increase – as individuals, families, parish and archdiocese?

13. Christian Stewardship Calls for Conversion
Each baptized person is called to be a disciple and follower Christ
Mature Christians make a conscious decision to act as a disciple; paschal mystery – die to self so to live for others
Experiences conversion – change of heart – commits oneself to the Lord; lifelong process
Stewardship is an invitation to continually re-assess our priorities
“What do I own, and what owns me?”
How we spend our time, use our talents and share our resources is an indication of our progress in living Christian stewardship.

14. What is a Stewardship Parish?
A community of faith striving to mature in our discipleship to Christ through prayer, learning and action
Working at changing the way we live to imitate Christ’s Paschal Mystery – dying to self to live for others
Actively sharing time, talent and treasure with the parish, community, world

15. Measuring our Stewardship Success - Gratitude
Are we more grateful than we were? How?
Have we matured in our celebration of Eucharist, the great prayer of praise and thanks to God?
Do we thank God daily for God’s gifts?
Do we complain and criticize less?
Do we covet others’ possessions less?

16. Measuring our Stewardship Success Accountability and Responsibility
Are we more accountable than we were? How?
Do we admit our mistakes and try to learn from them?
Have we accepted our baptismal responsibility for the evangelical mission of Christ?
Do we reach out to others through hospitality and through solidarity with the poor and all those in need?
Do we celebrate the sacrament of Reconciliation regularly?

17. Measuring our Stewardship Success Generosity
Have we grown in our willingness to share our time with God and others?
Have we grown in our willingness to share our talents with others?
Have we grown in our willingness to share our financial resources with others?
Are we warmer, more caring and more generous now than we were?

18. Measuring our Stewardship Success Giving back with increase
Have we taken the gifts that God has given us and helped them to grow and develop or have we buried them out of ignorance, apathy or fear?
Have we brought out the best in our parish community and its members?
Are we growing in holiness, prayerfulness, service to others?

19. Organizing for Stewardship
Pastoral Leaders role
Steward for parish community
Care of souls (share with others)
Care of temporal affairs (share with others)
The four “I”’s (share with others)
Inform
Involve
Inspire
Invite

20. Organizing for Stewardship
Inform/Form
Inform and educate parish about stewardship
Adult education and sharing
Bulletin articles
Form parishioners through
Preaching about stewardship as the lifestyle of a mature Christian
Prayers of gratitude and thanks
Special attention to Eucharistic Prayer
Faith-sharing discussions

21. Organizing for Stewardship
Involve/Invest
Create an active faith community; energy and joy for sharing the Gospel of Christ
Remind people of their gift of personal presence to God and one another at Mass
Participation at Mass rehearses us in participating in the life of the parish and beyond; get people to move outside themselves
Organize outreach to the world through corporal works of mercy in community; create opportunities for people to act
Prayer – presence – participation – outreach
“Don’t just sit there, do something” - Action
“Don’t just do something, sit there” - Contemplation

22. Organizing for Stewardship
Inspire
Tell stories of sharing time, talent and treasure; stories of conversion
Give opportunities for lay witnesses to share their stewardship journey at Mass
Tell parables of Jesus in the context of gratitude, accountability, generosity and giving back with increase

23. Organizing for Stewardship
Invite
Ask parishioners to assess and if needed, re-order their priorities in life; priorities change over time
“What do I own and what owns me”?
Ask parishioners continually to share their God-given gifts, to pray, to be personally present at Mass/prayer, to get involved in the work of building the kingdom of God
Follow up on those who have volunteered and integrate their gifts into parish ministries and services

24. Stewardship Councils
Read about and understand overall stewardship message rooted in scripture and the tradition of the Church
Be responsible for developing parish Stewardship of Treasure initiative (Nov and ongoing)
Use the 4 I’s – Inform, Involve, Inspire, Invite
Explore various methods for parishioners to give: EDT, on-line, stock/securities, estate plans/wills
Explore possibility of grants for specific projects

25. Stewardship Council
Read about and understand overall stewardship message rooted in scripture and the tradition of the Church
Use the 4 I’s – Inform, Involve, Inspire, Invite
Be responsible for developing parish Stewardship of Time and Talent initiative
Brochure and Assessment
New parishioner welcome packet
Ministry Fair
Ministry training

26. Duties of Finance/Pastoral Councils
To care for, develop and share parish resources
To assess and set goals for improvement and/or development of parish resources
To be accountable to parish and archdiocese for effective use of resources
To act humbly, charitably and respectfully toward all God’s people and all creation

27. Spirituality of Stewardship
Stewardship is the spirituality of every Christian and of every parish organization.
What is your council doing to live Christian stewardship?
How do your meetings express self-sacrifice and sharing for the good of all?
How effectively are you stewarding parish resources?