The first 30 seconds of Jim's portion of this webinar made the entire 60 minutes worth it. Before he explained how to form a stewardship committee he first reminded us that we want the stewardship message in our parish to remind parishioners how blessed they are. We want them to give out of thanksgiving to God for His blessings. We don't want them to give to the needs of the Church.
Jim also mentioned that he's never met a talent-less person. People should be able to come to Church and discern their God given gifts. And a parish with a Stewardship Committee can help them give those gifts back to God.
More Stewardship Highlights from Jim Kelley
Stewardship is the giving of FIRST fruits, not left overs
Stewardship begins within the family, but it doesn't end there
Our calendars and our checkbooks tell our story. These two things tell us where we spend our time and our money. Is God anywhere there?
Stewardship is trust in God's will
Stewardship is PROACTIVE not reactive
Stewardship brings a sense of joy and fulfillment (to see our blessings as gifts from God we will receive true joy)
Forming a stewardship committee
The stewardship committee should fall under the parish council, NOT the finance committee. The stewardship committee is not about the church's need to receive. It is about the parishioners need to give. Therefore it's a pastoral ministry, not financial.
A stewardship committee member must primarly be a spiritually motivated person. They must exemplify and live out stewardship. They can envision and define the future of the parish by recognizing the symptoms of spiritual change needed. Finally, commitee members must pocess qualities that ensure success. (see webinar for more specifics)
Roles & Responsibilities of the Stewardship Committee
A parish-wide annual stewardship effort (2-3 weekends). It must be annually because it takes time to "get" stewardship. Jim sees it takes about 6 years. An annual event also allows people to increase their giving of Time, Talent and Treasure.
Other important ways to incorporate stewardship....
Lay Witness Talks
Time/Talent List: A number of your parish ministries should focus on the community and not just the parish. Consider giving a tithe from the weekly offertory to a different charity each week.
2-3 sentences in weekly bulletin
Brochure
Postal mailing of Parish newsletter
Homilies
Prayers of the Faithful
Welcoming/Hospitality Program
Commissioning Sunday
Seperate Child/Youth component
Evaluate efforts
See recorded webinar for more specifics and other ideas
These are the documents Jim passed along after the webinar.
Forming a Stewardship Committee - Stewardship and Hospitality - Commissioning Sunday
Lay Witness Manual - Stewardship for Children - Timetable for Conducting a Stewardship Effort
S tewardship Committee Responsibilities - Annual Plan - The Fruits of Stewardship Handout
Best Practices in Parish Stewardship - Take a Pulse: Stewardship Evaluation
Final Thoughts....
This is a lay person ministry. As Jim points out in the webinar there are three kinds of priests when it come to stewardship: 1) The "I will help us become a stewardship committee!" 2) "I support you in this parish stewardship effort" and 3) "We're not going stewardship at this parish" If you have priests 1 or 2, congratulations and let's get started! If you have priest #3 you can still begin living a life of stewardship in your own life and your ministry.
The Office of Stewardship here at the Diocese of Lubbock is here to help. From what we know about our diocese, there is no parish with a stewardship committee. However every parish could benefit from a stewardship committee. We look forward to hosting stewardship education events including a retreat for new stewardship committees. But we can't put on a retreat unless you know you're forming a committee. Reach out to Rachel at 806-792-3943 x207 or by to begin your journey today!