Stewardship Thoughts

Correctly and fully understood, Christian Stewardship holds every individual accountable to God for the personal care of the universe.

The point of the parable Jesus told about the steward who misused his masters property for his own benefit was: be faithful in small matters and you can be trusted with larger matters.

Everything we do or fail to do matters. The good we do leaves behind a legacy. For example building St. Joseph Church was a matter of great sacrifice in 1900 and we enjoy it today for many years to come. The failure to do good leaves a void.

Building Committee

Discussion at Building Committee focused on "let's build a new church first." The focus of the Bishops Stewardship letter is on using our resources to build up the kingdom of God with a reminder that we look beyond our own needs to reach out to others.

1. Building a new church is not an immediate priority. Many people worship in buildings far less comfortable than our Parish Activity Center. We are blessed with a beautiful church and a building that will allow us to grow. We should not be selfish and think of what we want first.
2. Developing a spirit of generosity is the first step in good stewardship. We count our blessings and return a portion to God to be used for His work. A generous parish will have the resources to take care of the needy and to build a church that gives glory to God.

Building Update

Statue of St. Joseph is now mounted outside the Parish Activity Center. Thanks to Jeff Fisher and Bob Hess.

Building Committee

The biggest challange will be educating the parish to stewardship principles. Everyone wants a new church. Nobody is interested in the mission of the church. Until we understand and practice generous giving in thanksgiving, we will not be able to fully embrace stewardship.

Catholics give generously to "needs". But when it comes to the Offertory, they settle for 1 or 2 percent of income or a dollar or two because the church doesn't really need it. Contributing to build a new church without considering mission is selfish.

It will take a long time before people understand what the bishops are talking about in their call to discipleship.

Building Committee

Stewardship of existing resources has always been characteristic of how we managed the parish. We have been able to do many things with very limited facilities in the past. Even with the present facility, we wonder how did we ever manage. Already it seems to small. Yet, it is still underused.

We do not have enought classrooms for all the Religious Education to take place at the same time. Alternative scheduling, home programs, and creative use of Carpenter Hall provide some answers. In the future we will have more classrooms. The growth of the parish will crowd the space we have now.

Future planning needs to be about more than what we need. It must be about how we can serve the community and build up the kingdom of God. Phase Two of our plans must be based upon Stewardship and Discipleship.

Building Committee

The US Bishops wrote a pastoral letter "Stewardship: A Disciple's Response". One of the implications is that we consider the use of our existing facilities in the broader context of needs of the community. A Kitchen and Hall might mean providing meals for the elderly and poor. Classrooms or offices that are empty during the day might be used for other groups to provide valuable services to the community, or daycare for needy moms, etc. Available land might provide need athletic fields for the community.