By Eileen Connelly, OSU

ST. MARGARET MARY DEANERY — In recent months, area Catholics have been giving special attention to living with an attitude of gratitude, giving thanks for our many gifts and reflecting on the ways we can share them with others. It’s all the result of Grateful Believers, the Archdiocese of Cincinnati’s new stewardship education and enhancement program.

This fall, 11 local parishes are participating in the initiative, according to Brian Doyle, assistant director of the archdiocesan Stewardship Office. One of the first faith communities to begin the formal process was St. Vivian Parish in Finneytown, which serves nearly 1,000 families. "The parish has done a tremendous amount of work and is on fire with the program," Doyle said.

CT/E.L. HUBBARD

Father Paul Gebhardt talks with Fran Schwartz and Lynne Morris during a lull in the fair. Father Gebhardt is pastor of St. Vivian Parish.

"It’s about more than money," he said. "It creates an understanding of stewardship as a way of life by helping us to recognize that all that we have and all that we are is gift from God. As disciples of Christ, we are called to live with a spirit of gratitude as we share these gifts with our parish and community. The program helps to raise awareness about the many ways parishioners can share their time, talent and treasure at St. Vivian so that the Lord might accomplish His will for our parish."

Father Gebhardt praised the work of parishioners who have assumed a leading role in initiating Grateful Believers at St. Vivian, including Joe and Linda Staneck, who are coordinating the initiative, and members of the parish action, ministry fair and stewardship education teams. The first step in implementing the program was the development of a parish action plan, Father Gebhardt said. Distributed in the form of a booklet during Masses on Sept. 22 and 23, the plan communicates the human and financial resources necessary for all the current ministries, programs and services in the parish and helps parishioners see the connection between the sharing of their time, talent and treasure and St. Vivian’s ability to sustain current and future ministries.

The following weekend, a prayer journal was distributed to parishioners, giving daily reflections, meditations and prayers on receiving God’s gifts gratefully, cultivating those gifts, sharing them in justice and love with others and returning them to the Lord with increase. It also helps parish members expand their thinking on stewardship and discover how they might grow and practice it in their own lives.

Each weekend during October, the parish also offered stewardship education focusing on the topics of gratitude, accountability, sharing and returning. The education process was accomplished through the use of the prayer journal, theme-focused homilies, lay witness talks at each Mass, bulletin inserts that also appear on St. Vivian’s website and weekly parish email communications.

Amidst the stewardship education, there were other events designed to help parishioners consider how they can best share their gifts.

Leadership gatherings on Oct. 9 and 10 brought together those who have already demonstrated generous stewardship. They were honored and thanked for their support and asked to prayerfully consider leading by example as they committed to supporting the parish action-plan before the rest of the community. A ministry fair on Oct. 20 and 21 served as an opportunity to celebrate the way the Lord is at work at St. Vivian’s through the parish’s many ministries, committees, groups and organizations. Parishioners had the chance to learn how these different entities help and serve others, in addition to seeing how stewardship has an impact on the lives of those at St. Vivian’s and in the larger community. Masses that weekend were celebrated in the parish’s Fillippine Activity Center, surrounded by displays respresenting the various ministries.

The Grateful Believers program will conclude with a Covenant Weekend Oct. 27 and 28. During all weekend Masses, parishioners will have the opportunity to put stewardship into action through the completion and return of a covenant letter.

The letter asks them to consider what gifts of prayer, time, talent and treasure they are willing to invest in the parish for the work of Christ in the coming year, as they individually respond to the prayer, "Lord what do you want to do through me to accomplish your will for my parish?"

Linda Staneck said the initiative has generated a great deal of excitement at St. Vivian’s. "It’s life-giving and challenging for us as we reflect with gratitude on what we have and consider how God is calling us to do more ... To me, this is a process of learning, reflecting, praying and reading, not a program that has a beginning and an end. I’m looking forward to seeing what the next year will hold and how we will discover as a parish what it means to be grateful believers."

Father Gebhardt said the parish’s involvement in the Grateful Believers program has yielded many benefits that the parish will reap in years to come. "One benefit is the planning that the parish organizations have been doing. Before, many groups were just status quo, and there wasn’t a lot of strategic planning happening. Now there’s an awareness of the to need to plan ahead and have a vision."

"There has also been community building occurring," he added. "This is giving us something to rally around. Rather than focusing on the just the dollars and cents of stewardship, Grateful Believers is leading us to be a more spiritual community of Christ’s disciples. In terms of outreach, it’s helping us look at how we’re living out the church’s mission and if we’re really doing enough."

"We’re also learning about trust," Father Gebhardt said. "Instead of going for a set increase (in participation), we’re going to put things into God’s hands. We’ll talk about stewardship, then trust that God will lead people to do the right thing."