Witness
to Stewardship as a Way of Life
Maybe it’s your worst
nightmare. Maybe it’s your closest held
dream. You have been asked to speak in
your parish about stewardship. What
will you say? Where do you start?
The outline below may give you some direction, some guidance
or just some ideas. Please use whatever portions are helpful to you.*
For additional resources or assistance, contact Glenda Seipp at the
Stewardship Office, gseipp@diocesehelena.org.
1. Define stewardship as a way of life--
Describe the full nature of our giftedness as children of God—beginning with time, talent and treasure but also including our lives, relationships, vocations, the environment, even our obstacles, weaknesses and mistakes.
2. Affirm that your audience members are
already good stewards--
Good parenting is good stewardship, so is regularly receiving the Sacraments, giving blood, participating in parish ministries and school and community groups, charitable giving to the poor, church and other causes, making time for God and for family a priority, and so on.
3.
Challenge the audience to live stewardship daily in all facets of life--
Ask them to make a conscious decision to develop and share their gifts on an everyday basis. Remind them that, for the true Christian disciple, stewardship is not a duty or obligation but a response and an opportunity.
A Christian steward recognizes God
as the source of all, and knows that we will be held accountable for how we
used the gifts he entrusted to our care.
Stewardship is biblically based.
It is as old as the Old Testament and an integral part of our faith today.
According to the 1992 USCCB Pastoral Letter on Stewardship, a Christian steward
is: "One who receives Gods gifts gratefully, cherishes and tends them
in a responsible and accountable manner shares them in justice and love with others,
and returns them with increase to the Lord.”
The title of the 1992 USCCB
Pastoral Letter, "Stewardship: A Disciple's Response", conveys
that first, God is generous to us. Then, we respond with gratitude. Action is
required. The letter points out that "stewardship is an expression of
discipleship"; it is not an option for Catholics.
We are each and all uniquely
gifted by God in a variety of ways.
Owning up to those gifts, especially talents and abilities, is not
prideful or egotistical but true humility when we credit God with our gifts and
put them in His service.
Our unique gifts include our very lives and the time
we have been given, our faith and the
Church, our relationships, our work and vocations, our
abilities and interests, experiences and passions, our intellects and
personalities, our money and possessions, the environment and our citizenship,
even our obstacles, weaknesses and mistakes.
Once we realize how generous God
has been to us, we respond with gratitude by developing all our gifts to their
full potential, using them well to serve others, building up the kingdom of
God, and sharing them generously in proportion to what we have been given.
our loved
ones and ourselves.
Our consumer-driven society tells us we will never
have "enough" --that we will always have to buy more, do more,
be more.
Christian Stewardship is
counter-cultural. It has been called
the "antidote to materialism".
We Christians believe that God gave each of us "enough." That is, exactly what we need to fulfill the
plan he has for us.
Collectively too, we know we have
been given "enough" if we share with one another! No matter how small or limited our gifts
seem, if we share them generously God will make what we offer
"enough", just as Jesus did when he took the few loaves and fishes
and made it "enough" to feed the multitudes!
Stewardship is a call to discern our wants from our needs, a call to simplicity, a call to prioritize our lives so we spend our precious time and resources on what is truly important. Stewardship is our faith lived out in our daily lives. We must have faith that God will always provide what we need and faith that we can live a disciple’s life as he calls us and faith that when we fail because of our human weaknesses, still he will be there to provide comfort, to lift us up and help us to try again.
Time, Talent and Treasure
No matter what our position in life or how many
demands are put on us, all of us have exactly the same number of hours
available in each day. Making good use of that time requires keeping our
priorities straight. Since our time is
limited, each time we say 'yes' to one thing, we are forced to say 'no' to
something else. We need to make sure our highest priorities get the 'yes'.
A simple but profound way to be a good steward of God's gift of time is to attend Mass regularly and to establish a good prayer life. Even those in your audience who may feel they don’t have the means to contribute in any other way can still pray for the needs of the Church, the world, their community and individual members of the community.
Christian stewardship shows us that everything comes from God, including our wealth and the ability to create our wealth. Letting go of some of what is really only on loan to us anyway is very freeing. It allows us to follow the teachings of Jesus more closely.
Being a good steward of the money and possessions God entrusts to our
care requires that we honestly discern our needs from our wants. God always
provides what we need, but seldom everything we want.
If we don't make a deliberate plan to return the
"first fruits" we receive from God back to him after taking care of
our own needs and many of our selfish wants, we will only have what is leftover
for God. This is why making an annual plan is important to the charitable
giving aspect of our discipleship.
Sometimes people ask what a "minimum" gift is. But why should
we even consider a minimum obligation to the God who has given us
everything? While our God cannot be
outdone in generosity, we at least need to share with others out of profound
gratitude and love for God. To make
your gift sacred, or sacrificial, it should be enough to make a difference in
your lifestyle. Don't "give 'til it hurts," give until it feels good!
1. Know your audience--
Find out approximately how many people will be present. Will you be an “insider” or an “outsider” relative to the group? What does this audience already know about the topic of stewardship? How long can you speak before your audience will lose interest? What is the context of the presentation (i.e. after the homily, at a stewardship meeting, etc.)?
2. Know your topic—
Research, research, research! There are many excellent resources available through the Diocese of Helena and others. Learn the pastor or your hosts’ expectations.
What are the potential “hot spots” surrounding this topic in this location? How can you effectively address them? How does this topic directly impact your audience? Is there a specific outcome desired, (i.e. people will be asked to make a commitment of some sort)?
3. Structure your speech—
Use the “tell me” model: tell me what you’re going to say, tell it to me, then tell me what you told me. Three is a magical number. Group things in threes, make three points, have three main parts to your presentation. Groups of three are more easily remembered and re-told. Be sure your speech progresses logically from an introduction to a preview to the body of the speech to a summary and conclusion. Tie the introduction and conclusion together if possible.
When you practice your speech, time yourself so that you know how long the actual speech will be. Shorten it or lengthen it according to the time you have been allotted.
4. Be mentally prepared—
There are three elements of mental preparedness: confidence, conviction and credibility. Your confidence will be high if you have done your homework and are well prepared. Practice makes perfect. Practice your speech several times, in front of a mirror, a video camera or a friend who can offer constructive criticism.
Your conviction will be high if you take care to speak only from your own experience, knowledge and understanding. Stick to what you know and then speak with the authority that knowledge gives you. Personal experiences and personal witness are very effective so use them to clarify and explain. Don’t skip these personal anecdotes in your practice sessions. They will add to the length of your speech and the telling of personal stories may bring up emotions you don’t expect.
Confidence and conviction will give you credibility. However, enhance your credibility by asking your host to introduce you with a little information about you and why you have been asked to speak.
5. Account for the physical environment—
Even if you are speaking at an informal, evening or weekend workshop, your appearance should be neat, and well groomed. For more formal occasions, such as Mass, dress in a professional way minimizing anything that will be distracting like a loud tie or flashy jewelry. Your body language will also convey your confidence, conviction and credibility. Stand up straight. Make eye contact as much as possible. Smile. Speak loudly enough to be heard in the back. If there is a microphone, position it to be just below your mouth at chin level and about two or three inches away.
*With thanks to the Diocese of Orange, California and to Renee St. Martin-Wizeman, Diocese of Helena.