Stewardship

What is Stewardship?

Imagine if you were homeless and someone gave you a new home for free. You would receive that gift so gratefully, recognizing that this person must care for you deeply. You would probably call that person to mind each time you returned home - especially on wet and cold nights! You would look after this precious gift. If you encountered others in need of shelter, you may reflect on what you had received and offer to house them as well. You may even look for ways to increase housing in your local area.

This gives us a taste of what stewardship is about. Stewardship begins with a profound recognition that God has lovingly given us our home, this world, and all that we possess and all that we are. We are so loved and precious in God's eyes! As with any precious gift, stewardship then calls us to cultivate the gift of our own lives, talents, and world responsibly. However, we could do that and just keep the goodness to ourselves. Stewardship recognises that if we have received these free gifts out of God's goodness then we are called to share them lovingly in justice with others. And when we do share, we don't offer the leftovers but return what we have been given with increase to our God.

Stewardship is:

• A way of life
• A way of thanking God for all His blessings by returning a portion of the time, talent and treasure allotted to us
• Based on Scripture, both Old and New Testament (for example: 19 of 36 parables deal with stewardship)
• A spiritual way of life that leads to conversion and a deeper relationship with Jesus
• Based on the fact that God has given each of us a talent or talents to do certain things well
• Giving the first fruits of our time, talent and treasure, not what is left over

Stewardship is a way of life in which we realise that each is called to be a Christian steward who:

• receives God's gifts gratefully
• cultivates them responsibly
• shares them lovingly in justice with others
• and returns them with increase to the Lord

How can I live out Stewardship?

Stewardship is not a program we join. You will recognise that we are already called to stewardship. Indeed, any of us who take seriously the call to be a disciple act out the stewardship principles. Stewardship gives us a useful way to live out our baptismal vocation, our life in Christ.

There are some great resources that can help guide us to live out our stewardship more fully - in our home, school, workplace, parish community and in our response to justice and environmental concerns.

A Stewardship Prayer

Lord God, you alone are the source of every good gift, of the vast array of our universe, and the mystery of each human life.
We praise you and we thank you for your great power and your tender, faithful love.
Everything we are and everything we have is your gift, and after having created us you have given us into the keeping of Your Son, Jesus Christ.
Fill our minds with his truth and our hearts with his love, that in his Spirit we may be bonded together into a community of faith, a parish family, a caring people.
In the Name and Spirit of Jesus, we commit ourselves to be good stewards of the gifts entrusted to us, to share our time, our talent and our material gifts as an outward sign of the Treasure we hold in Jesus. Amen.