What is Stewardship?

Stewardship is discipleship. We strive to put God first in all things and to follow where Our Lord might lead. Stewardship calls us to be ever grateful for the gifts that God has given. Not only are we called to be grateful to God, but we also must be grateful to one another. Just as we thank God every day, a stewardship parish must also show gratitude, recognition and appreciation to those who have given generously to the support of the parish.

It's difficult to teach or practice stewardship, unless we have a clear understanding of exactly what stewardship is. If we wish to embrace stewardship, we must gradually learn to embrace every aspect of stewardship.

Prayer - Spending Time with God:  The foundation of stewardship is prayer – talking and listening to God every day, throughout the day -  through prayer, Mass, Eucharistic Adoration, scripture reading, quiet, meditation and other spiritual activities. During this time we ask God how He wants us to use the gifts He has given to us.

Participation: Recognizing that God has given each individual unique skills and talents so that together we can do the work of Our Lord, we strive to share our own talents and to encourage and welcome others to also use their talents to participate in the mission and ministry of the Church.

Generosity -  Stewardship involves resolving to be generous with all our gifts. Not just the ones we choose.  Throughout the Gospels, Jesus challenged us to give as it has been given to us. Aware of our tremendous financial blessings, we strive to give generously to support the building up of God's kingdom. 

Stewardship, quite simply, is recognizing that everything we have and everything we are is a gift from God and being Grateful and Generous with those gifts.