The call to action
By Dan Stremel
Director, Offices of Finance and Stewardship
I’ve been involved in many activities over the years, both as a participant and as a facilitator, coach, umpire or parent. Have you noticed that there is often someone teaching or coaching the participants that has no apparent connection with the activity? Most of the time this person is there, not for the paycheck or for the recognition, but rather because they have a passion for the activity and truly want to help others even though they do not have a family member participating. What would we do without the selfless contributions of these individuals? We often rationalize that since we have no connection with a particular activity, there is no need for us to be involved.
However, that rationalization is just an excuse. Look to our communities and see all the needs that are being addressed by people who have set aside this view and have decided to get involved in the lives of other people, people who truly need the sharing of another’s time and talent. Perhaps we do not have elderly parents or relatives in our community who need assistance or would just like to visit with others on occasion. Perhaps our children have graduated from school and from sports and have moved away to raise a family of their own. Perhaps we have chosen to attend Mass on Sunday and find little value in learning about the many activities that are happening in our parish on a weekly basis. You see, if we believe that our time and our talents are no longer needed because we are not directly involved in a particular activity, then we are making excuses.
Each of us has talents that have been given to us by God that we are called to share with others, whether they are our family, our friends, or those we do not yet know. Each of us has been blessed with the gift of time, time that we must allocate wisely to a variety of activities. It is fair to say that all of us have squandered opportunities to be better stewards by not sharing our time and talents when a need has arisen. The good news, though, is that God is a very forgiving God, and we will be forgiven and can begin being better stewards if we so choose.
It seems, in traveling throughout the diocese, that there are many committed individuals who have taken seriously this call to live as Christian stewards and are examples for us to follow. It also seems, though, that many of these evangelization and ministry activities are lacking the level of participation necessary to be truly effective in transforming the lives of all of our people. Don’t get me wrong. These ministries are effective and are helping our people be more spiritual -- more committed to knowing what our God is calling us to do with our lives, but there is always room for more participation in these ministry opportunities.
The summer season is often a time when parish leaders are taking time to evaluate, to plan, and to regroup for another year of ministry. This is also a time when each of us can also be discerning, or planning, how we can be more effective in sharing our time, talents, and treasure. We can be thinking about how we can share our God-given gifts with others. We can not only be teachers, facilitators, and leaders, but can also be participants in the workshops and ministry opportunities of our parish. There is even the possibility that we may have the ability to begin a new ministry the parish council has been thinking about, but didn’t know who to ask, or how to go about implementing.
We are all called to action as Jesus’ disciples, but we often get apathetic about this call and choose to do nothing at all. Being a Catholic is about much more than attending Mass on Sundays, and I would invite everyone to take a closer look at our involvement in activities of the past as well as the perceived needs around us. I would challenge each of us to take a step forward on our stewardship journey by sharing our gifts a little more freely with others. I hope that each of us will pray also, have meaningful dialogue with God, and ask how He wants us to share our gifts with others.
Let us all hear that call to action, that message of stewardship that Jesus lived out in His daily life. Let us burst the seams of our Christian living so that the ministry and evangelization efforts of our parishes take on a new and vibrant life. I pray that each of us will step forward, if only a small step, and choose to allow God to work in and through us for the benefit of all of our brothers and sisters. May God bless our efforts to be better stewards and may we never forget that God will not be outdone in His generosity toward those who themselves are generous toward others.