Stewardship transforms parishes

Parishioners show greater willingness to participate

"There is a new spirit in the parish." Cecilia Winton

By RAMON GONZALEZ
WCR Staff Writer
Edmonton

If you come into Our Lady of Perpetual Help Parish today you will notice you are coming into a stewardship parish," says Jerry Heck, a member of the parish stewardship council. "You have a sense that this is a parish that is moving in that direction, that it is on that journey with respect to stewardship."

Heck is one of several parish representatives who made presentations during the recent fourth annual Stewardship Days conference at St. Theresa Parish. Another is Cecilia Winton of St. Alphonsus Parish in Edmonton, who said stewardship has transformed her parish.

"I think people are more cooperative and more ready to help with things," said Winton. "There is a new spirit in the parish. People get along well together."

Stewardship council

OLPH Parish in Sherwood Park embarked on the stewardship journey in 2002 with the creation of a 12-member stewardship council. The council created a vision and produced a strategic outline to guide the parish in the journey.

Council members attended conferences and professional development sessions to get a better appreciation and a deeper understanding of stewardship as a way of life, Heck said in an interview.

"We've built some really effective cornerstone blocks for stewardship in our parish," he said.

"One of the first things we did, as an example, is we started with a gratitude dinner to celebrate all of the acts of time and talent that were given within the parish by the parishioners. It drew over 500 people, where we had the opportunity on behalf of the parish to say 'thank you' for your gifts of time and talent."

OLPH does a four-week time and talent renewal every September called Stewardship Call. During this event there are lay witness presentations and parishioners voluntarily sign up for ministries or other things that they would like to do in the parish, Heck said.

The parish also has an activity wall that represents what's happening in the parish, from baptisms to confirmations to celebrations of life. "That kind of messaging is very important to signal to everyone that we are alive as a stewardship parish."

"We've built some really effective cornerstone blocks for stewardship in our parish." Jerry Heck

Numbers are up with regards to involvement and special celebrations but "we haven't looked into how stewardship has impacted the parish's treasure and we are not even thinking of doing it," Heck said. "When we come to the point where we accept that everything we have is a gift from God, that's when you will see the generosity of people begin to flow."

The council is currently looking into how stewardship has impacted the parish spiritually and taking steps to reach out to everyone in the parish.

Stewardship spirituality

"OLPH is a large parish and our stewardship council is saying there is a need for us to begin to engage in some processes that will draw people to reflect deeply about the spirituality of stewardship," Heck said. The parish will soon start offering formation sessions on stewardship for all parishioners "so that they better understand and appreciate what this journey is about."

St. Alphonsus Parish officially embarked on stewardship in September and it started out with a bang, producing a large scroll declaring September stewardship month.

"We put up huge stewardship signs and we put 18 little posters around the church and Father (Patrick Baska) invited everybody to make a little pilgrimage and go around and read all the little posters," an excited Winton said in an interview.

The posters said things like: Stewardship is the sharing of your time, talent and treasure with God and the people. On two Sundays in September lay people explained what stewardship meant to them.

Mascot named Stu

The parish even has its own stewardship mascot, Stu, who was created by a parishioner following a contest. As explained by Winton, Stu is like a big flame of fire with the steward hands and the heart of the church in the centre.

Moreover, on the last Sunday of September the eight-member stewardship committee did a skit on stewardship indicating the various types of stewards in the Church and how important their work is.

Since then the parish has had witnessing every month, with people coming up to the pulpit during Mass and talking about their experience in parish ministry.

The parish also held a stewardship appreciation banquet in February where the stewardship committee recognized all the parish stewards and gave them stewardship pins.

"We haven't been at it very long but I think stewardship is beginning to transform our parish," said Paul Winton, Cecilia's husband and a member of the stewardship committee.

"I think that there is a more open climate in the parish now and I think people are a little bit more willing to contribute than they were before stewardship started."

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