•  In the New Testament writers use the words “steward” and “stewardship” to make the point that all people are God’s stewards, becasue everything that exists belongs to God.
  • God is the owner of everything that exists.  God created it, and it is God who continually keeps it in existence.
  • It is 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 definition or aspect of stewardship.

 

  • Scripture Based
    • All of the teachings of stewardship come directly from the Gospels, the Old Testament and the letters of the New Testament. Stewardship is not a new fad, or environmental word. Stewardship is the way God has expected His people to live since the beginning of time.
  • Dependence on God
    • Stewardship is recognizing that everything we have is a gift from God. We can take credit for nothing. Everything we have and everything we do is a result of some gift that God has placed into our hands.
  • Gratitude
    • Stewardship is living a life of gratitude – taking the time every day to recognize the gifts that God has given and to be grateful for them.
  • Giving Back
    • Stewardship is returning a portion of our gifts to God. The gifts we return are our time, our talent and our treasure. We return these gifts not because God or our Church needs them but because we feel an overwhelming need to show our love and gratitude to God.
  • Trans-formative
    • Stewardship is trans-formative. Once we embrace the stewardship message it changes the way we look at every decision we make. Stewardship becomes a total way of life.
  • Proportionate Giving
    • Stewardship calls us to realize that each of us is called to give as God has given to us. We no longer base our giving on what others are giving. We no longer excuse ourselves from giving because we do not see others giving. Rather we give in proportion to all that God has given to us.
  • Prayer – Spending Time with God
    • Stewardship involves spending time with God. Recognizing that every day is a gift from God, we strive to spend some of each day with God, 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 – Sharing Talent
    • Stewardship involves sharing talent. 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.
  • Trust in God
    • Stewardship is trusting God. We believe that our generous God will always provide for us. None of us will ever have all that we want, but we will always have all that we need.
  • Accountability
    • Stewardship calls us to recognize that just as in the Parable of the Talents, each of us will someday be asked by God to give an accounting of all that we have done with the gifts that have been given to us. Likewise, parish communities that embrace stewardship must be accountable to the community for the way in which the parish uses the gifts entrusted to it.
  • Thankfulness
    • 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.
  • Discipleship
    • Stewardship is discipleship. We strive to put God first in all things and to follow where Our Lord might lead.