Parish cluster stressing stewardship's many faces

It troubles Rev. Joseph Benintende that many people think of "stewardship" only in terms of dollar signs.

"Of course, it's important to support the Church financially," says the pastor of the Church of the Annunciation in Ilion, "but it's equally important to give of your time, your talents -- and your prayers."

To that end, Father Benintende has been helping to develop a Total Stewardship Program for a cluster of four parishes: his own, St. Joseph's in West Winfield, Our Lady Queen of the Apostles in Frankfort, and St. Joseph's in Richfield Springs.

During the weeks leading up to Christmas, Annunciation's parishioners focused on the importance of spiritual support. In January, they'll listen to shared reflections on "Time and Talents," followed by lay reflections in March on the importance of "Treasure."

Evolving process

Father Benintende said the idea for the Total Stewardship Program evolved as the cluster went through the pastoral planning process a while back.

"At the present time, we have four priests serving the 4,000 or so parish families in the cluster," he noted. "There is a very real possibility, however, that we may have only two priests here by the year 2005. If that reduction occurs, substantially more lay involvement will be required."

That, he explains, is where total stewardship enters the picture. Total stewardship, Father Benintende believes, is the cornerstone of "total parish involvement" and a first step in securing it is to help parishioners understand its three key dimensions: stewardship of prayer, stewardship of time and talents, and stewardship of treasure.

Working together

Also committed to that philosophy are Revs. Francis Husselbeck, pastor of St. Joseph's, Richfield Springs; Terence Healy of St. Joseph's, West Winfield; and O. Robert DeMartinis of Our Lady Queen of the Apostles in Frankfort.

For several months, those priests, along with lay representatives of their churches, have been meeting to discuss ways of fostering increased practical, spiritual and financial stewardship in their parishes.

"At Annunciation, we felt the first focus of stewardship should be prayer. Since giving thanks is a form of prayer, we decided to introduce our Total Stewardship Program in conjunction with the national celebration of Thanksgiving at the end of November," explains Father Benintende.

Promises to pray

The "Stewardship of Prayer" theme was kept alive at Annunciation and the two St. Joseph's parishes throughout Advent. (Our Lady Queen of the Apostles is operating on a slightly different timetable.)

At the Church of the Annunciation, for example, letters were sent out to the 1,500 registered parish families explaining the proposed stewardship program and inviting them to participate in a Prayer Commitment service on the first Sunday of Advent. At the service, parishioners were asked to sign a form promising to remember their Faith Family in their daily prayers. The forms were then placed in a box on the altar. They will remain in the box for a year as a silent but visible reminder to parishioners to pray for one another on a regular basis.

Response to the appeal for prayers has been incredible, according to Father Benintende, who said: "I haven't counted the forms, but judging from the number inside the box, I'd guess we've received a commitment from at least 1,000 parishioners at Annunciation."

More to come

Father Benintende said January was chosen as the time to introduce "Stewardship of Time and Talent" because the start of a New Year is often a time for making resolutions.

"It is our hope that members of our parish cluster will make resolutions not only involving their private lives but also involving their faith family," he explained.

The lay people who will step forward to formally introduce the second stewardship theme later this month will share reflections along two lines.

"First, they will talk about some of the reasons they give of their time and talents to the Church," the priest said. "Second, they will tell a bit about what they see as the benefits of doing so. Hopefully, this will encourage others to do the same."

Optimistic

Father Benintende is optimistic that new and expanded programs and lay ministries may ultimately evolve as more and more parishioners become involved in the second phase of the Total Stewardship Program.

As an example, he said, Annunciation recently added "a caring bereavement ministry" to help out during wakes and funerals. Participants do everything from housesitting to picking up mourners arriving at airports.

Stewardship of Treasure won't begin in earnest until March, but Father Benintende hopes that by then parishioners will realize it is not only about supporting the Church financially.

"All three components are necessary if we are to be good stewards of the Church," he stresses.

(01-09-97) [[In-content Ad]]