Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) about Stewardship at the present time:
What is the diocese?
The diocese is the local church. In our Catholic tradition, every parish is an "extension" or "outpost" of the diocese, the diocese being led by a bishop, one of the successors to the apostles appointed by the Holy Father, the Pope. Everthing within the church is properly subject to the bishop. Our diocese, the Diocese of Springfield in Illinois, provides a wealth of services to individuals in our diocese, such as direct support of Catholic Charities and other charitable outreach, legal services for those in need, retreats and faith formation opportuniites for the faithful, and the ongoing formation of the clergy. The diocese also provides a wealth of support to parishes that would cost us an immense amount of money if we had to provide them for ourselves, things such as HR assistance, benefits administration, legal, property, and building assistance, financial issues assistance, the office of Catholic Schools that supports our schools and principals, and much, much more. The local church - the diocese - is funded by the support of us, the faithful in its parishes.
What is this new move the a "stewardship way of life?"
In our diocesan synod in 2017, representatives of all of the parishes in the diocese resolved for our church to move towards intentional discipleship and stewardship. Part of this is to encourage the faithful to move closer to the Biblical model of tithing. Seeing stewardship as a grateful understanding that all we receive is a gift from God and ultimately returning to God, we look for ways to try to meet the Biblical model of tithing - giving back 10% of what we've been given - to the church and to other charitable organizations that are important to us. This could be 5% to our church and 5% to other charities, or some other mix. This can also be in the form of our time (prayer and service) and/or our gifts (financial.)
And the parish now participates in stewardship by tithing to the diocese?
Yes. Each of the parishes in our diocese, starting next year, will move to a more simple and straighforward model of stewardship than in the past with the Annual Catholic Services Appeal (ACSA). After this year, instead of having an annual goal to meet in support of the diocese, each parish will instead pass along (or tithe) 10% of the regular offertory it receives to the diocese, to help fund the operation and needs of the greater church.
What is this year's stewardship goal to the diocese?
This year, our parish's goal to help support our diocese is just over $46,000. This is up slightly from last year, but down from the few years prior. It represents roughly 10% of our usual parish offertory in 2019.
Then why is there still a goal or "assessment" this year?
This year, as a year of transition, each parish still has a goal to meet. Those who participated directly in ACSA with pledges in years past received a letter from Bishop Paprocki asking them to help again this year. Anything collected from the parish, or sent to the diocese via these letters marked from our parish will count towards our parish's goal. If we exceed our goal, the excess will be returned to our parish this one last year. Again, after this year, we move to the model of simply sharing a tithe (10%) of our regular offertory with the diocese.
What's important for me to consider next?
As always, your help to meet our goal in supporting our diocese this year is important. It's also an important call to reflect upon each of our gifts and whether we can help participate more fully in the financial stewardship of our parish, and providing or its needs. The more you can provide, the more we can do together as a parish. Also, after supporting this year's goal to the diocese, anything that you would have given in the past via ACSA is important to consider starting to give to the parish in your offertory across the year, realizing that the diocesan support will now come directly from the parish's regular offertory collection.
Please send your questions to Father Alfred at pastor@stelizabethgc.org, and we will work on responding via email and possibly posting the answer here if more people may be helped by it.
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Our parish is blessed with a group of men who show pride in our church, school, and grounds and share their many talents, performing various maintenance and improvement tasks around the campus. Each Wednesday, these men show up and help keep our buildings and grounds looking good and in good repair. If you're interested in joining this group and sharing your skills, contact the parish office.
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Scrip is a fantastic way to support our parish and school through your everyday household and gift purchasing. Scrip = gift cards to common retailers, restaurants, and more. When you buy Scrip, a percentage of the face value of the gift card you purchase comes back to the parish. Many retailers offer between 2% and 10% of the face value of the Scrip back to our parish. Some common types of Scrip are available for sale at the parish office - others are available via submitting an order.
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From the Office of Parish Vitality & Mission of the Diocese of Springfield in Illinois.
In 1992, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops published Stewardship: A Disciple’s Response. The bishops defined a Christian steward as one who:
Stewards acknowledge that God is Creator and Owner of all and shares of their gifts out of love for God and one another.
As members of the Body of Christ, Jesus calls us to be disciples. This has astonishing implications.
Stewardship has the power to shape and mold our understanding of our lives and the way in which we live. Christian stewards recognize God as the Origin of Life, the Giver of Freedom, and Source of All. We are grateful for the gifts we have received and are eager to use them to show our love for God and for one another. We look to the life and teachings of Jesus, the model steward, for guidance in living as Christian stewards.
The Bible contains a profound message about the stewardship of material creation: God created the world, but entrusts it to human beings. Caring for and cultivating the world involves the following:
Each of us has a human vocation—our human role in carrying out God’s divine plan. Our challenge is to understand our role in this plan, and respond generously to this call. Work is fulfilling a human vocation. The Second Vatican Council points out that, through work, we build up not only our world but the kingdom of God, already present among us. Work is a partnership with God- our share in a divine human collaboration in creation. It occupies a central place in our lives as Christian stewards.
Stewards of God’s gifts are not passive beneficiaries, but collaborators with God. We are obliged to be stewards of the Church, collaborators and cooperators in continuing the redemptive work of Jesus—the Church’s essential mission. This mission, proclaiming and teaching, serving and sanctifying, is our task. It is the personal responsibility of each of us. All members of the Church have their roles to play in carrying out its mission:
People who want to live as Christian disciples and Christian stewards face several obstacles. In the United States and other nations, a dominant secular culture often contradicts religious convictions about the meaning of life. This culture encourages us to focus on our pleasures and ourselves. At times, we can find it far too easy to ignore spiritual realities and deny religion a role in shaping human and social values. As Catholics who have entered into the mainstream of American society and experienced its advantages, many have also been adversely influenced by this secular culture. The struggle against selfishness and greed is almost constant; for many, it is harder today to accept the challenge of being a Christian steward. It is essential, therefore, that we make a special effort to understand the true meaning of stewardship and live accordingly.
The life of a Christian steward models the life of Jesus. It is challenging and even difficult, in many respects, yet intense joy comes to those who take the risk to live as Christian stewards. Women and men who seek to live as stewards learn that “all things work for good for those who love God” (Romans 8:28).