While attending the International Catholic Stewardship Conference in Chicago, I could not help but think of my comments last week in Scott’ Corner. I mentioned that many seasonal residents choose the departure date from their northern residences not by the calendar, but rather by the thermometer. Considering that there are frost warnings and record lows expected tonight (Tuesday the 18th) in Chicago, I would imagine that many Midwesterners will soon by heading south. For those heading to southwest Florida to spend season with us in Naples, we wish you safe travels.
Chicago provided a great backdrop for the International Catholic Stewardship Conference. Few places can offer the kind of rich diversity in our Catholic faith tradition as we find in Chicago. Did you know that Chicago is home to 2.3 million Catholics representing 45 different language groups.
I have been involved with the St. John Stewardship Council since its inception. During that time, there has been much confusion regarding what stewardship is and what it means to each of you. Below is what I consider to be a great definition as published in Pillars of Stewardship by the Diocese of Wichita in Kansas.
Stewardship is a conversion journey of receiving God’s love and returning love to Him. A conversion requires reflection and time to allow God to show us who we are, and the person of love that we can become. Throughout the conversion experience, the disciples yearn to change and grow into the person God created them to be – a steward uniquely His own, but united in one Body through Jesus Christ. Stewardship transforms lives because of its love, and it is in this transformation process and conversion journey towards love that we give new life to the church.
As Disciples of Jesus Christ we seek ways to repay the Lord for His goodness to ourselves. We do this by living a Life of Stewardship to ensure God is first in our lives. He’s the one who has gifted us with all that we have and are. In gratitude for that, we return to Him the first portion of our time, talent and treasure.
St. John the Evangelist Catholic Church wants to assist you on your journey towards becoming a faithful Steward. We gratefully receive and thank you for the time, talent and treasure you place in our hands. As we embark on Stewardship as a way of life, we will all witness the transformative process that Stewardship gives to the life of the Parish, larger Church and world around us.
One constant theme that reverberated through the walls of every session I attended at the Stewardship conference was “gratitude.” Although we are certainly grateful for your gifts of time, talent and treasure, I am not sure how good of a job we do in conveying that message to you, our parishioners.Gratitude is the cornerstone of stewardship. Without your outpouring of generosity, we would not be able to operate and offer support for the countless ministries and outreach programs hosted in our parish. We have an amazing parish and even more amazing parishioners who give selflessly for the betterment of St. John the Evangelist. I would like to take this opportunity to personally thank each and every one of you for your gifts of Time, Talent and Treasure.
With that said, I would like to sincerely thank you for your continued generosity to the Catholic Faith Appeal. We are currently at 73% of goal with just over three months remaining in the annual appeal. We have an uphill battle, but with a strong push at year’s end we can achieve and hopefully exceed our goal. We are well ahead of where we stood at this same time last year so I remain optimistic.
In His work together,
Scott Schlossberg, MBA
General Manager