Stewardship

1.2 Identify Parish Staff Member(s) to Champion Stewardship Formation and Serve as a Liaison to the Stewardship Core Team

July 5, 2022 by Pathway Admin

Parishes throughout the U.S. and world that actively foster stewardship as a way of life reveal the importance of having a designated staff member who embraces stewardship and champions stewardship in his or her Family of Parishes. This person will also be the liaison to the Stewardship Core Team.

Identifying a staff liaison is one aspect of Phase 1 milestone:

“The pastor and staff participate in stewardship formation. Identify a staff point person for a parishioner-based Stewardship Core Team.”

Sometimes the stewardship champion is the person who is responsible for community life or communication or who coordinates the many ministries that are part of the life of the parish. Some parishes believe stewardship is so important that they have a staff person who is dedicated to this essential ministry. Regardless of the role of the stewardship point-person, he or she must genuinely appreciate stewardship as a way of life and be committed to growing as a good steward himself or herself while championing stewardship in his or her Family of Parishes.

To-do: Begin to discern your stewardship staff liaison/point-person, and schedule an introductory session focused on identifying your staff liaison.

1.1 The Pastor and Staff Become Familiar with Stewardship as a Way of Life

July 5, 2022 by Pathway Admin

Fostering stewardship as a way of life in your Family of Parishes begins with your pastor and staff. Since many parishes have previously only referred to stewardship when speaking of financial giving, embracing stewardship will rely on your leaders’ understanding and appreciation of the spirituality of stewardship and its impact on themselves and the potential impact on your Family of Parishes. The Stewardship principle states:

“Families of Parishes are communities of grateful disciples. Recognizing God’s gifts, they use their talents, skills and resources to build up the Church and live as Christ’s Body in the world.”

One way for your pastor and staff to engage in spiritual formation is to invite the Pastoral Center Stewardship department to come and facilitate a day of reflection on stewardship at your introductory sessions, Family staff meetings and occasional staff or leadership retreats.

To-do: Begin stewardship formation for your pastor and staff.

Stewardship Overview: Phase 1

July 5, 2022 by Pathway Admin

“Stewardship is an expression of discipleship, with the power to change how we understand and live out our lives.”^[1]This simple yet compelling statement from Stewardship: A Disciple’s Response captures the impact of understanding that each person is a steward. Those who have been touched by this spirituality of stewardship recognize that everything we are, all that we have and all that we will ever be is pure gift from God. Through that recognition, we grow in gratitude for our many blessings: our lives, faith and relationships; the capacity to love and show mercy; our talents; the minutes, days and weeks of our lives; our financial and material resources. With this deep and abiding gratitude, we learn to say thank you to God by sharing our lives and resources, living as people of service and mission and reaching out with Christ’s love in our lives at home, in our town or city, our Family of Parishes and the world. We find ourselves consuming less, prioritizing our time and activity based in who we are as God’s blessed people and sharing more with others.

What a blessing such a life is! As our bishops note, this way of life is transformative. It helps us find meaning and purpose in life, move beyond selfish impulses toward the needs of others, find abundance everywhere and share the richness of Christ’s life and love as grateful disciples. This spiritual way of life transforms the lives of individuals and the life of our faith community.

The Stewardship principle calls your Family of Parishes to foster stewardship as a spiritual way of life. During Phase I, you will discern a staff liaison or coordinator, as well as a Stewardship Core Team of parishioners who will guide the establishment of a culture of stewardship in your Family of Parishes.

_{[1] Stewardship: A Disciple’s Response, Introduction (Hereafter, quotes from this pastoral letter will be noted in the text as SDR).}

“The pastor and staff participate in stewardship formation. Identify a staff point person for a parishioner-based Stewardship Core Team.”

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Stewardship