Stewardship

The Stewardship Commission is responsible for fostering the spirit of stewardship – the investment of our time and talents in collaboration with God to do His work.

Contacts
Contact Jay Moran for information at Sacred Heart Church tel. 846-4745

Stewardship Tips
Christian Stewardship begins with the love at the core of Christ's message. Because of His love for us, God entrusts us with the priceless gift of life- along with our talents, abilities, and all of our possessions and earthly resources. Therefore, we don't own what we perceive to be our holdings. God is their rightful owner, and we, who are their recipients, are managers, obliged- not by law, but by gratitude and our Christian faith- to use them in accordance with God's plan.

Stewardship is an important concept for our spiritual growth as Catholics. It is a way of thanking God for all God’s blessings in our lives by returning to God a portion of our time, talent, and treasure in serving others. Giving of our time involves being with God in prayer and worship as well as giving of our time in the church and community to help others.

Christian Stewardship provides a spirituality that you can take home from church, use in the family, use in school and the workplace, and express through personal involvement in church and community. Stewardship is not a job-oriented or project-minded...........it is a way of life for a lifetime.

Stewardship is based on your need to give, not on the need of someone else to receive. It is based on the premise that all we have and all we are is a gift from God, and, as a way of thanking God for all our blessings, we return some of our time, talent, and treasure back to God by serving the community.

We tend to find time for our priorities. But we don’t always have our priorities straight. Consider ways in which you find yourself wasting time. Often, we have more time than we realize. As with money, we can spend our time more wisely if we study how we use it. If, on average, you work 8 hours and sleep 8 hours, that accounts for 2/3rds of the day, five days a week. What do you do with the remaining time? Is there an area in which you waste time that might be reclaimed for better stewardship?

Stewardship is a conscious choice of a way of life. One cannot be a steward by accident: one must choose to serve the Lord by dedicating one's use of gifts to God. Thus, while every good action is worthwhile, not every good action is stewardship. Volunteering is not stewardship, BUT it can become stewardship when it is motivated by a desire to serve the Lord and it is dedicated to Him.

Each of us receives gifts and fruits from the Holy Spirit. Consider your own personal charisms (qualities) and blessings.......How do they contribute to your practice of Stewardship?

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Dear Fellow Parishioners:

For a couple of years now, the Stewardship Commission has introduced and educated the parish about the concept of a Steward and the conversion to stewardship. This process and conversion will continue in our Parish, both to explain what stewardship is, and to encourage and challenge people to embrace the life of stewardship.

Stewardship, as we have explained it, is not a program, or a series of tasks that come to an end. Instead, stewardship is a conversion of the way we approach our living our lives relative to the gifts and blessings God has given us.

When God created each of us, it was as unique individuals in His likeness, each with different talents, strengths, imaginations, skills........all gifts from God. These gifts were given to us, not to be kept to ourselves, but to be used for the good of the Kingdom on earth. We believe each of us has a vocation from God to use and share these God-given gifts and talents, and through prayer we can listen to God directing us how best to use and share these gifts for the good of all in our community — both the parish family and the community at-large.

We are already a stewardship parish in so many ways, with vibrant ministries, programs and activities at both St. Jude Church and at Sacred Heart Church. Many parishioners at both churches make the ministries, programs and activities successful. These people are truly Stewards, sharing their gifts from God with all of us. Ministers of the Eucharist, Lectors, Greeters, teachers in the Faith Formation programs, Junior High and Senior High School Youth Ministry coordinators, Pastoral Council members, Music Ministry (choir and cantors), Church and Family Life members, Clam Festival workers, Christmas and Holiday Fair workers............... the list goes on and on, and this one is far from complete.

We have tried to recognize some of the stewardship going on within the parish by our “Steward of the Month” feature in the newsletter, and will plan to continue to do this in the months to come.

We believe there are many more parishioners with gifts and talents not yet shared with the parish community. We hope that through the conversion process we are undertaking, more people will come to realize that they have a need to share their gifts and talents with the parish family, to show their gratitude to God for all He has given to them. Sacred Heart and St. Jude are truly blessed, but we can do so much more with our gifts once we recognize that they are given to us by God, and that God requires us to be good Stewards of those gifts, and to use and share them as He intended.

As we continue on the path toward conscious Stewardship in our parish, the Commission would like each parish family to use and enjoy the enclosed Stewardship calendar. The messages contained each month of the calendar will help encourage and inspire us to conversion to lives of Stewardship, and attitudes of gratitude to God for all our gifts and blessings.

The Stewardship Commission

Christian stewardship provides a spirituality that you can take home from church, use in your family, use in your workplace and school, and express through personal involvement in church and community. Stewardship is not job-oriented or project-minded … it is a way of life for a lifetime.

Stewardship is based on your need to give — not on the need of someone else to receive. It is based on the premise that all we have and all we are is a gift from God, and as a way of thanking God for all of our blessings, we return some of our time, talent and treasure back to God by serving the community.

Use what talents you posses: The woods would be very silent if no bird sang there except those who sing the best. Those who live stewardship see themselves as caretakers of God’s gifts. They are grateful for what they have received, and are eager to share their gifts out of love for God and one another.

Stewardship is an important concept for our spiritual growth as Catholics. It is a way of thanking God for all of God’s blessings in our lives by returning to God a portion of our time, talent and treasure by serving others. Giving of our time involves being with God in prayer and worship as well as giving of our time in the church and community to help others.