STEWARDSHIP Q&A
Submitted by Koreen Cassiero

What exactly is Stewardship? The word tumbles out of so many of our conversations and dances through the hallways, but do we really understand what it is and why we so eagerly chase after it?

Many of us are aware that St. Ignatius Loyola Parish is a Stewardship Parish dedicated to making Stewardship A Way of Life. With joyful thanksgiving for all our God given gifts, we volunteer our time, talent and treasure to serve the Lord and our fellow parishioners. One has to look no further than this Community Connection publication to learn of just a sampling of ways we are returning these gifts to the Lord. Some of us cautiously step along with the "Stewardship thing" but still have too many questions and misgivings to simply walk out of the comfort zone of our current lifestyle. We would like to join in but don't want to make commitments to something we don't really understand.

In an effort to provide answers to questions on what it means to be a Steward, I've reprinted material found on the Parish Stewardship Office website (www.stewardshipli.org). Hopefully it will shed some light on the gray areas of understanding you may have and lighten your heart enough so that you feel like skipping along in the Son's Light with an Attitude of Gratitude! 

This issue contains answers to the questions What is Stewardship? and What difference will Stewardship make in my life? Future issues will explore such questions as:

· What does intentional, planned and proportionate giving mean?
· What is meant by giving of one's time, talents, and material possessions?
· Am I expected to give all of what I have been given to the church?
· What's the difference between Stewardship and fund raising?
· What's the difference between Stewardship and tithing?
 

WHAT IS STEWARDSHIP?

It is a lifestyle, a life of total accountability and responsibility.  It is the acknowledging of God as the Creator and Owner of all.  Christian Stewards see themselves as the caretakers of all Gods' gifts. Gratitude for these many gifts is expressed in prayer, worship, offering and action.  It is a way of life. It is a way of thanking God for all his blessings by returning to him a portion of the many gifts (things like our time, talent and treasure) that we have been given.  It involves the intentional, planned and proportionate giving of all we have.

Finally, stewardship encourages everyone to participate in the task of building the Kingdom of God.  When we explain that God has given each of us certain things, that these gifts are our responsibility to care for, and that we are accountable for what we do with these gifts, then there is no doubt that everyone should be involved. Stewardship rejects the notion that we must "have it all" and instead, demonstrates the value of giving in love, in service and in justice.

Stewardship is based on the spiritual principles of the Old Testament and the teachings of  Jesus.

"Christ has no body now on earth but yours, no hands but yours, yours are the eyes through which he is to go about doing good, yours are the hands with which he is to bless people now…" (St. Teresa of Avila)


WHAT DIFFERENCE WILL STEWARDSHIP MAKE IN MY LIFE?

The difference is the motivation for giving.  It is so easy to put our lives on hold and with it all of our good intentions.  "Someday when I have more time" or "When I've reached my goals" or "I'll give my share of time, talent and treasure but not right now."  What will we tell those in need of prayer, in need of a kind ear or the hundreds of other acts of stewardship that will go undone and the gifts that the Lord has given us that will go unshared if we all were to think that way?  Stewardship acknowledges that God is the source of all of our gifts and talents, and we are the caretakers of these gifts.  Effective stewardship education and formation relies on leadership by example.

· Stewardship encourages us to make a difference and to become involved.
· Causes families to re-examine their relationship with God, each other, the  workplace, the community, and the parish.
· Increases awareness and appreciation of the presence of the Lord in our lives.

Where stewardship has been implemented, both givers and receivers' lives have been changed.  True conversion has taken place in the hearts and minds of many who embrace Stewardship as a way of life.

"Boast of tomorrow, for you know not what any day may bring forth." 
                                                                                                                       (Proverbs XXVII:I)