Blessed Sacrament to offer presentation on stewardship May 10

By RENEE WEBB, Globe editor
May 3, 2007

When some people think of stewardship, they sometimes think strictly in terms of finances, but those who are truly familiar with the concept know that it's a balance of giving of one's time, talent and treasure.

"Stewardship is a way of life," said Father Merlin Schrad, pastor at Blessed Sacrament. "It develops a generosity and sense of appreciation within ourselves for what God has given to us."

He added that it causes a conversion of heart - changing the focus from what you can get out of it to what you can give.

Blessed Sacrament Church in Sioux City will host a presentation on the spirituality and impact of stewardship at 7 p.m., May 10, in the church.

The parish is bringing in two speakers from the Diocese of Wichita, Kans. - Father John P. Lanzrath and Daniel L. Loughman. It was at St. Francis of Assisi Parish in the Kansas diocese that the internationally known modern Catholic stewardship model was developed in 1968. In time that model spread throughout the diocese of Wichita and in various parishes across the country and beyond.

Given the availability of these expert speakers, Blessed Sacrament not only encourages parishioners to attend but they welcome anyone who is interested in learning more about stewardship.

"These two men from Wichita are probably the leading experts in the country on parish and diocesan stewardship," noted Mike McGowan, a Blessed Sacrament parishioner and one of the organizers of this presentation.

The parish took an interest in expanding its stewardship program a couple of years ago.

Father Schrad stressed the fact that the Sioux City parishes have always done a good job in cultivating stewardship, but his parish was looking at ways to stress the spirituality of stewardship in a more defining way.

"What we are trying to do is respond to the U.S. bishops' pastoral document titled, Stewardship: A Disciple's Response," noted the pastor.

It was at a stewardship workshop hosted by the Archdiocese of Omaha where Father Schrad and some of his parishioners became familiar with the Wichita Stewardship Model. Two of the main speakers at that workshop promoted that model of stewardship.

Father Schrad said that at the workshop the two speakers never even mentioned finances, "it was the sharing of time and talent because of all that God has given to us. By sharing your time and talent, you really become more of a welcoming community and you feel a part of the church community. You want to do what you can do to make people feel that they belong to it and that we are all responding to Christ's message of love and concern for one another."

Last fall, Blessed Sacrament did implement First Fruits, a stewardship program based on the Wichita model of stewardship.

This modern Catholic stewardship model is based on the concept that stewardship is a way of life, a conversion of heart, a disciple's response, an expression of love and is centered in the Eucharist.

The Wichita model is based on four pillars of stewardship: hospitality, prayer, faith formation and service.

"Father John will discuss the four pillars - what they are, why you do them and what they mean," noted McGowan.

This model stresses the fact that by sharing of your time and talent, the parish becomes a welcoming community so parishioners feel a part of the church community. In turn, when they feel they belong, they are more likely to give of their own time and talent.

Blessed Sacrament had parishioners complete a survey, which is encouraged as part of the Wichita model, to learn more about how the people felt about parish programs and ministries.

"We looked at how the parish was meeting the parish community's needs and what things could be done to help parishioners be the kind of Catholic they want to be," said McGowan. "The idea is looking at what it takes to be a great parish."

Father Schrad pointed out that they discovered that the parish does not offer much for young adults who move into the parish. They will continue to look at ways to improve programs and ministries of the parish and this fall will host a Stewardship Fair, enabling all parishioners to sign up for various ministries in the parish.

Last year, 35 to 40 families formally participated in the First Fruits program, which included a signed commitment of their time and talent. The McGowans were among the families as was the family of Jason Glover.

Glover said it was important for him and his family "to recognize that all that we have came from God. It was a way to give back the many gifts and treasures that I have been given."

While the focus is on giving of one's time and talent, the money part comes in as part of the response in giving back to God. This giving back - whether in talent or in monetary donations - calls people to be good stewards not only in the parish but also in the community and the world.

Kristie Arlt, diocesan director of communications and stewardship, views the May 10 presentation at Blessed Sacrament as a learning opportunity for the diocese "simply because it has worked so well for others. I think this is a wonderful opportunity for us and I'm excited that we have speakers of this caliber coming to educate parishes within the diocese."

Effective stewardship, she noted, is essential.

"It's good for the church, it's good for the diocese and it's definitely good for individuals," said Arlt. "It takes work and it takes education."

Glover would like to see people attend the presentation so that they can learn of the possibilities of what stewardship can do for them.