Parishioner Involvement

Stewardship

Stewardship is the belief that all humans are responsible for taking care of the world. Stewardship refers to the way time, talent, and treasure are used or given for the service of God.

Here at Nativity there are numerous ways to engage in stewardship activities. You can support us financially and give your time and your talents to our many volunteer activities.

If you would like to volunteer your time and talent, please email Jill at jmetz@nativityschool.net. WE NEED YOU!

There are different ways to support us financially as well:

  • The easiest and most convenient way is to set up online giving! Online Giving Campaign – make your donations online through our secure Vanco portal. Setup your recurring or one time donations by visiting our online stewardship site.
  • We can also set you up with our regular envelopes that you can drop in the collection at Mass.
  • You can send monthly or yearly donations to the parish office at 43 Argyle Place, Orchard Park, NY  14127.
  • Finally, you can set up a bequest through your will.

Our churches only operate on the generous support of our parishioners, both monetarily and with volunteerism. We at Nativity thank you from the bottom of our hearts for your continued support!

EVERYDAY STEWARDSHIP – RECOGNIZE GOD IN YOUR ORDINARY MOMENTS

 I love the original movie Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. All the way through while I watch the film I still laugh and feel like a child. It is only the last line with which I have an issue. Wonka by now has chosen Charlie to succeed him as head of the chocolate factory. They board an elevator that proceeds to crash through the roof and begins to fly. Wonka then asks Charlie if he ever heard of what happened to the boy who got everything he ever wanted. After Charlie says no, Wonka explains, “He lived happily ever after.” As I get older, I can say I have met several people who got all or most of all they have ever wanted, but unlike Charlie, it did not lead to endless bliss. In fact, as a Christian I know that that statement of Wonka’s is a lie. The secret to living happily ever after lies in not getting all you ever wanted, but instead in giving all you ever wanted away.

 A person can’t have any sense of that reality until they begin to see his or her life transformed by Jesus. When we have accepted the challenge placed before us and made a choice to live a certain way daily, we can find ourselves transformed. Following Jesus is not easy, but it is the only true way to find authentic joy. When we have emptied ourselves and allowed him to fill the open spaces in us, we become different. We are transformed and, if enough of us in a parish community experience the same journey, our parish is transformed as well. Then we begin to transform the world around us. Don’t be fooled: A flying elevator is cool, but it pales in comparison to what can happen when we find a new life in Jesus Christ.

 –  Tracy Earl Welliver ©LPi

 

To Be a Christian Steward
A Summary of the U.S. Bishops’ Pastoral Letter on Stewardship

“As each one has received a gift, use it to serve one another as good stewards of God’s varied grace” (1 Pt 4:10).

What identifies a steward? Safeguarding material and human resources and using them responsibly are one answer; so is generous giving of time, talent, and treasure.  But being a Christian steward means more. As Christian stewards, we receive God’s gifts gratefully, cultivate them responsibly, share them lovingly in justice with others, and return them with increase to the Lord.

Disciples as Stewards

Let us begin with being a disciple—a follower of our Lord Jesus Christ. As members of the Church, Jesus calls us to be disciples. This has astonishing implications:

  • Mature disciples make a conscious decision to follow Jesus, no matter what the cost.
  • Christian disciples experience conversion—lifeshaping changes of mind and heart—and commit their very selves to the Lord.
  • Christian stewards respond in a particular way to the call to be a disciple. Stewardship has the power to shape and mold our understanding of our lives
  • and the way in which we live.

Jesus’ disciples and Christian stewards recognize God as the origin of life, giver of freedom, and source of all things. We are grateful for the gifts we have received and are eager to use them to show our love for God and for one another. We look to the life and teaching of Jesus for guidance in living as Christian stewards.

Stewards of the Church

Stewards of God’s gifts are not passive beneficiaries. We cooperate with God in our own redemption and in the redemption of others. We are also obliged to be stewards of the Church—collaborators and cooperators in continuing the redemptive work of Jesus Christ, which is the Church’s essential mission. This mission—proclaiming and teaching, serving and sanctifying—is our task. It is the personal responsibility of each one of us as stewards of the Church. All members of the Church have their own roles to play in carrying out its mission:

  • Parents, who nurture their children in the light of faith;
  • Parishioners, who work in concrete ways to make their parishes true communities of faith and vibrant sources of service to the larger community;
  • All Catholics, who give generous support—time, money, prayers, and personal service according to their circumstances—to parish and diocesan programs
  • and to the universal Church.
A Steward’s Way

The life of a Christian steward models the life of Jesus.  It is challenging and even difficult, in many respects, yet intense joy comes to those who take the risk to live as Christian stewards. Women and men who seek to live as stewards learn that “all things work for good for those who love God” (Rom 8:28).

After Jesus, we look to Mary as an ideal steward. As the Mother of Christ, she lived her ministry in a spirit of fidelity and service; she responded generously to the call. We must ask ourselves: Do we also wish to be disciples of Jesus Christ and Christian stewards of our world and our Church? Central to our human and Christian vocations, as well as to the unique vocation each one of us receives from God, is that we be good stewards of the gifts we possess. God gives us this divine-human workshop, this world and Church of ours.

The Spirit shows us the way.

Stewardship is a part of that journey.

For the full article, click here.