2. Stewardship

The questions of stewardship and mission are intimately bound together. Stewardship calls us to gratitude, responsibility, and accountability for all of our human and financial resources. It calls us to make the best possible use of what we have been given, through prudent planning and careful allocation of resources, so that we can serve the community of faith in the most effective and just way possible. Good stewardship allows us to make decisions about resources that are mission-driven rather than crisis-driven. Resources — human and financial — support the activities of the parish and greatly influence a parish’s ability to meet the needs of its community. The increasing complexity and demands of parish life challenge the ability of some parishes to meet the needs of their parishioners and to reach out to the community. In addition, because of demographic and economic changes, some parishes are in the midst of growth while others are located in areas where population is declining or where the local economy is suffering. Stewardship calls us to respond to these varying needs in ways that will strengthen the vitality of our parishes and avoid crisis-driven, short-term solutions.

In the context of stewardship, the questions before us are these: How can we make the best possible use of the human and material resources so that we are good stewards of the mission of the Church? How do we avoid duplication of resources? How do we deal with major facility challenges in areas of declining population?