Stewardship

Stewardship at Sacred Heart

The Sacred Heart Community is devoted to Stewardship of Time, Talent, and Treasure. The parish tithes a percentage of our Sunday collections to our St. Vincent de Paul Conference here at Sacred Heart, plus various other local charities.

Stewardship also means taking care of the God’s creation, the earth. We encourage people to recycle. We attempt to conserve our electricity and water. We always welcome ideas from parishioners.


Stewardship is:

* A Conversion of Heart

* A Disciple’s Response

* An Expression of Love

* A Part of Our Vocation

* An Honor and an Opportunity

* Is Centered in the Eucharist

Stewardship provides a spiritual way of living for all of us – a way of being in the world, particularly as we continue to embrace the New Millennium and respond to the Gospel call to renew the face of the earth.

Stewardship is about the many gifts our gracious God has given us. It helps us to reflect upon our giftedness; all that we have which constitutes our treasure: Our families, friends, time, talents, skills, material possessions, finances.

Stewardship is about reflecting on our faith and on the way we live and act as disciples of Jesus.

Stewardship is about caring for all of God’s creation.


Stewardship Prayer

Gracious God,

You are the source of every good gift: The universe, humanity and all creation. We thank you for your faithful love. Everything we are and have is your gift. Grant that we become good stewards of the gifts entrusted to us. May our time, talent and treasure be offered for the common good.

May they reveal your presence to all humanity, to all creation. Grant this through Christ our Lord.


Stewardship of Time

God grants us 168 hours each week. What proportion of this time is given over to God in prayer and worship? What part of these 168 hours are devoted to reaching out to others? Do we prioritize our time by first giving to God, then immediate family, then church family, and then others in our workplace and community?

Our time on earth is limited, but more importantly, it is a freely given gift from God. Taken as such, we cannot afford to be so casual about how we spend it or where it goes.

Everyone is busy. But busy is a horrible excuse if we are busy neglecting what is most important. In fact, Jesus gives us clear instruction in the use of our time. He told the story of Martha and Mary. Martha ran around the house making preparations for Jesus’ stay. Mary sat at Jesus feet listening to what he had to say.

Our schedules are too often filled with activities similar to Martha’s work that afternoon. At first glance, they seem to be an essential first priority. After all, Martha had to serve dinner didn’t she? But at a second glance, these activities can probably be reprioritized. Jesus calls us to reconsider our priorities, no matter what they are.

During our Stewardship renewal of Time and Talents make a commitment to increase the amount of time you spend each week in prayer and with your parish family. If we don’t make a diligent and disciplined effort then it won’t happen.


Stewardship of Talent

God has given all of us the gifts of certain talents or skills. We are asked to share our talents with others. Are we using them to fulfill God’s plan for our lives? Are we using them to build God’s Church? We need to go to God in prayer and ask how to use our talents for God’s greater glory. How can we be like the servants in scripture on talents who took a chance with their gifts and in turn gave back the master more than they had been given?

Look through the list of ministries to see where your talents and skills may be used for the good of others. Identify the parish organizations that may be in the need of your talents and then make a commitment to participate and put those talents to use.


Stewardship of Treasure

How much money should I give to the Church? Five or ten percent or more?

The Dioceses of Boise suggests 5% to the parish, 1% for Diocesan programs, and 4% to other charities. The Church, in Her great wisdom, has never written any formulas on how to determine the amount we should give. There is a simple edict: Support the Church.

The only person who can determine exactly how much to give is us. Through prayer and reflection, the amount we give to the Church should adequately represent our gratitude to God for what God has given us. It should also be part of our “first fruits” rather than from what is left over. Whatever we give should be a sacrifice. If we give without noticing, it is not a sacrifice. We don’t need to give until it hurts. We need to give until if feels good and right.

Children need to be given the opportunity to earn some money so they can give some of it back to God. We furnish envelopes for adults and children.

We give with an attitude of gratitude.