What is Stewardship?
Stewardship is fulfilling our Christian-Catholic commitment to serve as priest, parishioner; a commitment made at our baptism. The most important reason for the Stewardship effort is to reach out and touch individuals and families with a message that helps deepen their faith and bring them closer to God.
What is the difference between a volunteer and a steward?
A volunteer does something out of the good of their heart, with no obligations attached. A steward is fulfilling his or her commitment to the Church.
We are called to serve. We are called to participate.
As Catholics stewardship is an important part of our faith. Stewardship is not just another program, nor is it easy. Christian stewardship is a way of life, it is a way to have a relationship with God. Grateful for the time, talents, and treasure given by God we believe it is our responsibility to recognize what we have been given, cultivate them, share them with others and improve upon them for the Lord. It is powerful to realize that everything, your life, your talents, your treasure, even your faith itself, is a gift from God and that he has trusted you to share and invest them wisely. It is this awesome trust and responsibility which calls us to live our lives as stewards. One of the many ways you can be a Christian steward is to give back to God through the parish community.
Stewardship of Prayer
By embracing our relationship with God and our role as steward of his gifts we are invited to enter into a deeper relationship with God. With our busy lives it is easy to overlook the importance of spending time with God but just as our relationships with each other must be nurtured so must our relationship with God. At St. Leo’s we have many ways to assist you in spending time with Christ. Some of these include Daily Mass, prayer groups and retreats which teach us to weave prayer into our lives, bible studies, adult and youth faith formation programs, and Eucharistic Adoration.
Stewardship of Service
God gives each of us a unique set of gifts, a way to give back which is all our own. Whether our talents include compassion, counsel, organization, cooking, teaching, communications, decorating, music, working with youth, finance, or something else entirely there is a way to use that talent in service to God. We have hundreds of volunteer jobs within the many ministries of our own parish which rely on the generosity of stewards. Take an inventory of your own talents and prayerfully consider how you might return them in service to God. Our website can provide an introduction to some of the many ministries we have and with a call or email to the parish office we would be happy to hear what you might be able to share with us and direct you to an appropriate one.
Stewardship of Tithe
We live in one of the most economically privileged and comfortable societies of all time and yet money remains a major source of stress in our lives. The incessant advertising, we are bombarded with promises us further comfort, convenience, or happiness if only we spend some money but all too often we are left wanting more. Stewardship calls us to look at finance in a new way. We must trust that, while we may not get everything that we want, God will meet our needs when we ask. It is this realization which frees us to generously share with others what we have been given. Gifts to our parish can be made by contribution to our weekly collections during Sunday Mass, through electronic withdrawal, estate planning, endowments, and others. For more information please contact the parish office at (585) 392-9694.
With the help of the Holy Spirit, we open our eyes to the needs of God’s people and to the needs of our parish community it encourages us to grow in faith and love of one another. For centuries, the Church has relied on stewardship to grow and flourish in the world. Tremendous good has been done throughout the world by this desire to be stewards of God’s gifts. We are all beneficiaries of those who have gone before us and it is our responsibility to return tenfold what we have received by the grace of God. The gifts we have, we are given to share.
Contact us at HSLeo.StewardshipCommittee@dor.org
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