SPIRITUALITY OF STEWARDSHIP

Stewardship is living out a commitment to be Christ-centered rather than self-centered.

1. Stewardship gives joy! Those who voluntarily give their time and abilities for work in the parish will always experience joy if they give them for Christ.

2. Christian stewardship helps us to become aware that God is the ultimate giver of the gifts we have. Our gift to God should be from the top - not from what may be left over.

3. Stewardship is not job-oriented or project-minded. It is a way of life for a lifetime.

4. Christian stewardship provides spirituality that a lay person can take home from church, exercise at work, and express through personal involvement in both the community and the Church.

5. Jesus Christ is God's greatest gift to us. Stewardship tells us to share a portion of our time, talent, and treasure so that the Gift, Jesus Christ, may be given to those who do not know Him.

What is Stewardship?

STEWARDS DO 4 THINGS:

1. Receive God's gifts gratefully

2. Nurture God's gifts responsibly

3. Share God's gifts justly and charitably

4. Return those gifts to God abundantly

STEWARDSHIP

• Stewardship, in its simplest terms asks us to put God's priorities before our own. Good stewards gives the first portion of their gifts of time, talent and treasure to the Lord's work in gratitude for His many blessings. This practice of giving are "first fruits" incorporates the aspect of sacrificial giving.
• "I say to you, this poor widow put in more than all the other contributors to the temple treasury. For they have all contributed from their surplus wealth, but she from her poverty, contributed all she had, her whole livelihood. Mark 12:43-44

THE COST OF DISCIPLESHIP

• The way of discipleship privileged beyond any other. Jesus says: "I came so that they might have life and have it more abundantly" John 10:10.
• But discipleship is not an easy way. "If you wish to come after me," Jesus also says, "you must deny yourself and take up your cross daily and follow me. For if you wish to save your life you will lose it, but if you lose your life for my sake you will save it." Luke 9:23-24

THREE FACETS OF STEWARDSHIP

TIME
A true understanding of stewardship begins with taking care of and sharing the gift of time. We are only given so much time and planning a careful schedule in oreder to have the time to work, to rest, to play and to pray is vital in the stewardship of our physical, emotion, spiritual and intellectual lives.

TALENT
If stewardship means taking care of, and sharing, all God's gifts, then stewardship of the gift of talent means nurturing, developing, and using the God-given abilities and characteristics that help to define "who we are" as individual human persons. Our talents are the special blessings that we receive from God and when we volunteer to help others by sharing our talents, we give something more precious than our time or money.

TREASURE
True stewardship is taking care of and sharing all that we have and all that we are - our time, talents, and treasure. Money and all of the things that we possess (our treasure) are gifts from God that we are asked to care for and generously share our own benefits for the good of others.