Deacon John’s Stewardship Blog

This first step to help our children understand stewardship is to reinforce these basic understandings of what stewardship is.

1. Help children see that God has given them many blessings. Challenge children to make a list of all           God’s gifts to them. There is no wrong answer!         Everything is a gift from God. Regularly compliment      children on their special gifts – simple things like         nice handwriting, pretty smile, nice outfit, etc.  Remind them that this special gift is a blessing from God and offer an idea how they can share it.
2. Teach children to be grateful to God for the blessings He has given to them. Make it a practice to ask children on a daily basis to name something they are thankful for. Help them to see that God has given them blessings to share. Discuss the poor and the needy. Talk about how God has trusted us to use our gifts to help those who have less.
3. Show children how stewardship has built our church. Discuss the 150^th Anniversary of our parish and its history. Participate in the many events scheduled to celebrate this anniversary. Let the children know they are a part of this history.
4. Help children recognize the joy that comes from stewardship. Have children discuss how they feel when they help someone else. Share your own feelings about helping and giving.

But Jesus said, “Let the children come to me.”  Matthew 19:14

God Bless you,  Deacon John Bartos

      My name is Dominic Colella. I’ve been part of this church all my life and have been altar serving since I was in 4th grade. I am now 18 and finishing up my senior year of high school at Hubbard High School. My family and I have been coming to church every Sunday since I’m able to remember. My parents have always stressed to my siblings and I how important it is to go to church. Church is something that can clear your head from one week and get it ready for another. Coming to Mass with my family every week is an important part of a puzzle piece to a family. I do believe a family that prays together, stays together. Also being part of the Mass on the altar makes the experience of Mass just that much better.

        Everyone has a different perspective on what stewardship means to them. We, as a family, certainly have differing opinions. But we believe the one thing that can be agreed upon is that all stewardship goes back to the 2 greatest commandments:

“‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’^{[a] 38} This is the first and greatest commandment.³⁹   And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.” Matthew 22:36-39

I have been a lifelong member of St. Patrick Church and my husband since we were married. Through our wedding, baptisms, first communions, reconciliations, confirmations, catholic education and CCD, loss and healing, the love we have received from our parish has only inspired us to give that love back.

Our boys find that serving the Lord through altar serving and volunteering for different parish activities, gives them a sense of purpose as they carry out God’s love. Jim and I have both participated in Renewal/Welcome weekends and this will be my second year as a team member. We also try to answer the call of God by volunteering with parish events.  It gives us peace to find the love of God in those around us, and if we can help to share that love with others, then we can be good Stewards of God.

Giving of our time, our talents, and our treasure, are important parts of stewardship, but loving God above all else and loving thy neighbor gives stewardship a sense of meaning. We are blessed to have the wonderful gifts given to us: our boys, our families and friends, but mostly we are blessed to have God’s love and to be able to share his love to those around us.

God bless you, The Wirtz Family

How do we teach children to be good stewards of God’s gifts?  I’m often asked, “How can we teach stewardship? What curriculum should we use? What projects can we do with children that will teach them stewardship?”

To be honest, I don’t believe that’s how it works. Our young people do not learn to be good stewards just from a program or a curriculum, a one-day event, or a one-time mission trip.  They learn to be good stewards when they see generosity modeled for them.

Generosity is one of the most important values parents and church communities can model for children and teenagers. In a culture where we are saturated with messages of consumption, violence and individuality at the expense of others’ well-being, all of us bear a particular responsibility to teach and model generosity to the children and teenagers of our parish.

May the giving of our time, talent and treasures serve as an example of generosity for the young people in our parish to model throughout their lives.

God bless you,

Deacon John