Stewardship

" Stewardship: A Way of Life "

SJN's Stewardship Commission's mission statement
"...to encourage our faith community to recognize that all life is a gift from God and to give proportionately of their time, talent and treasure."

So, what is Stewardship?

The concept of Stewardship is often misunderstood, so the commission has taken on the challenge of educating the faith community. It challenges us to plan and asks us to appraise - deliberately - what we are doing with our "Time, Talent, and Treasure".

However, it is more than fundraising activities or taking responsibility for specific activities of service. . ... it is a deeper awareness of God in our lives. Stewardship challenges us to consider where we place God among our priorities. Do we put Him FIRST in our daily lives and is everything we do pleasing to Him?

Before we can embrace a life-style of total Christian Stewardship, we must look inward and evaluate the type of Catholic Christian we are – what is our relationship with God?

Where did 'Stewardship' originate?

Stewardship is based on the spiritual principles of the Old Testament and the teachings of Jesus. Where stewardship is implemented, the lives of both the givers and the receivers have been changed.   Stewardship is a way of life. It is a way of thanking God for all of His blessings by returning to Him a portion of the time, talent and financial resources given to us. It is based on the individual’s need to give, not on the Church’s need to receive. By practicing stewardship we deepen our relationship with the Lord.
Stewardship involves intentional, planned and proportionate giving of time, talent and treasure.

+ Intentional means a deliberate and well thought out decision to live out the Christian life in a certain way.

+ Planned means that each Catholic household plans and makes stewardship of time and talent a part of their lifestyle and stewardship of treasure a part of its budget.

+ Proportionate means a decision is made to give a certain percentage of one’s time and talent and one’s income to the church and other community charities.

Stewardship Comes from the Heart

In order for stewardship to become fruitful in our daily lives, we must be willing to live our faith - to take the extra steps necessary to reach out to our family, our faith community, the greater community and other charities.

A Steward's Creed

      I believe in the gifts of God, and feel gratitude for all I have been given. These gifts are not mine to have, But mine to share. When they are shared, My gifts will make a difference to others. And I believe the act of giving Is more important than the gift itself. I will make giving a priority. I will give to others because so much Of what I have comes from others. I will give of who I am, what I do, And what I have. To my family, faith and community, I will give myself. As Christ gave so much for so many, So I will give to you. And I will be thankful For the opportunity to give. Amen.

Time, Talent, & Treasure

Stewardship is based on the spiritual principles of the Old Testament and the teachings of Jesus. It is a way of thanking God for all His gifts, cherishing and tending them in a responsible and accountable manner, sharing them in justice and love with others, and returning them with increase to the Lord. Please consider making a commitment to stewardship of time, talent and treasure a part of our lifestyle.

There are many, many opportunities for you to participate in giving of your Time, Talent, and Treasure at SJN beyond your greatly appreciated weekly tithing.....

....see our Ministry Listing in our Parish Resource Directory for some great ideas.

Giving & Receiving ... If we give according to God’s principles, God will give back to us.
     "The young man who gave his loaves and fishes did not go without dinner."