Mark Clark, director of the Office for Stewardship and Development, speaks at diocesan Stewardship Day at Our Lady of Good Counsel Church, Pearl City. His office sponsors the annual event. (HCH photo | Courtesy of Dann Ebina)
By Naomi Amuro
Special to the Herald
It was a cool, brisk Saturday morning, Feb. 9, when hundreds gathered at Our Lady of Good Counsel Church in Pearl City for the annual diocesan Stewardship Day, sponsored by the diocesan Office for Stewardship and Development. Participants came from across Oahu and also from Maui, Kauai, the Big Island and even Ohio.
To set the tone for the day, we began with Mass celebrated by Bishop Larry Silva.
In his homily, Bishop Silva said that taking on new things results in identifying needs we never knew existed. That’s how our ministries grow.
“We need to change our mentality,” he said, “and not think of stewardship as only something that we exercise within the confines of the campus of the parish, but something that we live every day of our lives wherever we are, taking the good news of Jesus wherever it’s needed in new and creative and deliberate ways.”
Denver Father Andrew Kemberling, chairman of the International Catholic Stewardship Council and one of the main speakers, talked about stewardship “best practices.”
Don’t condemn or say things are bad or wrong, he said. Show best practices and see what can be done differently to improve.
People give more when their confidence and trust in the parish increases, Father Kemberling said. Parishes should not be afraid to show transparency in their finances. People give more because their confidence in the parish grows. Parishes must demonstrate a rigorous honesty about money.
Ministers not volunteers
Jim Kelly, director of development for the Diocese of Charlotte, talked about stewardship as a way of life.
Hospitality is a hallmark of stewardship, he said. Stewardship is based on an individual’s need to give out of gratitude. It is a spiritual way of life.
Kelly said people should be called “ministers” rather than “volunteers” — an important distinction. Ministers are more apt to view their roles with greater responsibility. Every group should be a ministry, he said.
“Every single person in your parish is good at something,” Kelly said, “and most don’t have a clue that they do. Over time, when people commit time to the church, they will discover what those talents might be.”
Successful parishes are more personal and involved, he said. Some pastors, for example, send personalized birthday and anniversary cards. Some parishes provide nursery and childcare or picnics and festivals. Kelly said parishes should focus on energizing people to commit to ministry, attracted by comprehensive ministry guides and confirmed by a quick follow up.
Talking about money
In his presentation, “Talking about Tithing,” Father William Kunisch, pastor of Resurrection of the Lord Parish in Waipio, talked about the challenging topic. Most clergy are hesitant to talk about money, he said, himself included. But Jesus talked about money a lot, more than he talked about heaven and hell or faith or love, he said. Sixteen of 38 parables have to do with money and possessions. The only thing Jesus talked more about than money is the Kingdom of God.
“He was giving us a clue that our money and our possessions can be a key that can help to open up growth in holiness for our entire life,” Father Kunisch said. Tithing, as described in the Bible, means giving a tenth of whatever resource was given first. This means a tenth off the top, your first fruits, not what’s leftover.
Tithing is an act of gratitude, he said. If you want God to bless you in any part of your life, you must put God first. Tithing is a statement of faith in our future. It is saying to God that we don’t know what is going to come our way but that we trust him. Tithing lessens the power that money has over us.
The commitment card
Finally, Monica Lewis, senior campaign consultant from Our Sunday Visitor, a national publishing house, talked about the importance of asking parishioners for support every year. She shared a sample of a commitment card asking people for their “time” — going to Mass, praying — and “talent” — what they could do for the church.
People are more likely to do things that they write down. A commitment card must be followed up by the parish within two weeks, she said. If parishioners are not contacted, they are not going to answer again.
In answer to the question, “Why does the church need money,” Lewis said the response is, “Until the needy are clothed, the hungry are fed, and the Gospel is spread to the ends of the earth, we still need resources to do God’s work.”
