A Note From the Director of the Spirituality of Stewardship Committee

Some of the things we learned:

Stewardship is not the goal, evangelization is the goal.

Stewardship is spirituality.

Stewardship is a verb - an action.

It is not theology, not a mental thought, but a group of actions generated from the heart and emotions.

Stewardship is a way of life, not a fundraising event.

Stewardship is transformational, it changes peoples' lives and enhances the life of our parish.

What we did as a group in the very beginning:

All eight of us made a commitment to Stewardship.

We formed a Spirituality of Stewardship Committee of 15 members.

We developed an amendable Strategic Plan, which was approved by the Parish Pastoral Council and the Finance Committee.

We developed a power-point presentation to educate our various ministries on the Spirituality of Stewardship.

Spirituality of Stewardship Calendar 2009

The Art of Giving brochure

Stewardship of Vocations (Called By Name)

Dear Friends in Christ,

This January, Sacred Heart Parish will repeat a very successful vocation promotion initiative. “CALLED BY NAME” is a program that invites men and women, 16 years of age or older, to consider priesthood or consecrated life. This program was last used by our parish some years ago and has since been recommended by the U.S. Bishop’s Committee on Vocations in their document A Future Full of Hope: A National Strategy for Vocations to Priesthood and Religious Life for the Archdioceses and Dioceses of the United States.

At the heart of this program is the belief that all of us share a common calling through Baptism, to which we are invited to respond in a variety of ways - marriage, single life, consecrated life, permanent diaconate, and priesthood. The CALLED BY NAME process focuses on priesthood and consecrated life, and stresses the role of the Christian community in calling forth men and women to consider these vocations.

Parishioners are encouraged to consider who in our midst might serve well as a priest or religious and submit their names on the cards provided January 9-10 and 16-17, 2010. There are many good prospective candidates, who are simply waiting to be asked. How does the CALLED BY NAME initiative work? Parishioners will be invited to submit names of potential candidates in their respective parishes in mid January. Persons nominated will be invited to a Parish Vocation Session. At this meeting, participants will learn about the call and life of a priest, deacon, or religious. They will have an opportunity to seek answers to their questions and then be invited to explore the discernment process further.

The CALLED BY NAME program is an ambitious undertaking which holds great promise for our parish and diocese. In this year when the universal Church celebrates the year of the Priest, how important it is to actively support and promote a future generation of priests and religious to serve a growing Church hungering for Christ.

God continues to call people to service as priests and religious. The faithful have a responsibility to help identify and invite those called. Please pray for the success of this initiative and consider whom in our midst God might be calling to serve. I am remembering you in my prayers and the masses that I offer daily.

Sincerely yours in Christ, Msgr. Louis F. Kihneman, III, Pastor

• Stewardship of Vocations Letter (English and Spanish)
• Danny Boehm's Vocations Pulpit Talk
• Called By Name nomination card (English)
• Called By Name nomination card (Spanish)

Msgr. Kihneman's Homily from 1-10-10 and Vocations Pulpit Talk by Danny Boehm(Click here to download)

Spirituality of Stewardship: Faith & Prayer

In January, as a parish, we began the journey of the Spirituality of Stewardship. This of course involves our identity as Christians and as creations of God. It also calls us to a real spirit of trust and acceptance of God in our lives. As good stewards, we also are called to a spirituality of gratitude and thanksgiving for all the blessings that God has given us. In the Spirituality of Stewardship, we come to know God’s love for us and respond with love in return both to God and our neighbor.

The first part of our living the Spirituality of Stewardship that we addressed was and is Vocation. Both by living our own call, whether it is as married, single or religious (priest, deacon, sister or brother) and the promotion of vocations in our midst in the Called By Name program. Everyone was given the opportunity to pray for vocations and to nominate someone whom they thought might have a priestly or religious vocation. Thirty-nine people were nominated and after much discussion and discernment, ten have shown interest in receiving more information regarding priestly or religious vocations, which has the potential for great blessings for our parish and the church as a whole.

The next part of the Spirituality of Stewardship that we as a parish will emphasize is our Faith and Prayer life. Our faith is a treasured gift from God and when lived out through prayer, the Word of God and liturgy, can move mountains. In order for each of us to make a personal, yet public commitment in our faith life and prayer life during this Lent and throughout the year, each person in the parish will be given an opportunity to fill out a faith and prayer card and present it to God at the altar on the weekend of March 7th & 8th.

The early tradition of the church was and is that each person brings their gift to the altar. In modern times, the collection and offertory has replaced individual altar offerings. For this weekend of masses, in a very symbolic way, we will all have an opportunity to fill out a faith and prayer commitment pledge and to present these commitment cards to God at the altar. As you fill out the commitment pledge, you will also be able to fill out a copy for yourself that you can take home and place in a visible location (i.e., your prayer corner or home altar) as a reminder of your faith and prayer pledge.

As we grow in our spiritual lives as God’s stewards, we become more like Christ and therefore, are a visible sign of the Body of Christ for the world. Our hope as a parish is to continue to grow throughout the year in our Spirituality of Stewardship, which in the future will also include our care of the earth (April), sharing our time and talent (September/October), giving of our treasure (November), and as we have already discussed, promoting vocations and nurturing our faith and prayer lives. May God continue to bless us on our spiritual journey of stewardship.

~Msgr. Louis Kihneman, III

Results from the Spirituality of Stewardship Faith & Prayer Commitment Cards

A total of 1,167 Faith and Prayer Commitment cards were received at the altar during a special altar call of faith and prayer held the weekend of March 7th & 8th. Many of our parishioners committed to praying daily, for at least 15 minutes, attend mass weekly or daily and to pray grace before meals. Our faith is a treasured gift from God. As we grow in our spiritual lives as God’s stewards, we become more like Christ and therefore, are a visible sign of the Body of Christ for the world. Our hope as a parish is to continue to grow throughout the year in our Spirituality of Stewardship. May God continue to bless us on our spiritual journey of stewardship.

• Faith & Prayer bulletin articles
• Faith & Prayer Commitment Card Sample

Stewardship of the Earth

SHC and Youth Celebrate Earth Day with Stewardship Sacred Heart Church and Sacred Heart School are involved in a variety of activities to celebrate Earth Day by becoming good Stewards of the Earth. The CCD/Edge Program designated April 19th by cleaning up the grounds around the church and school. They emphasized the importance of taking care of the earth and that it is their responsibility as good Stewards of the Earth to do so. Ongoing activities at Sacred Heart School include actively participating in the conservation of energy and recycling. The school has upgraded light fixtures with energy efficient ballasts and teachers manage efficient temperature control of their classrooms by turning down the thermostats while not in use. They recycle ink cartridges and aluminum cans in addition to reusing textbooks, workbooks and paper whenever possible. The students are learning more about Stewardship of the Earth through education programs at the school. Science classes and the Science Club teach energy conservation methods to the students. Parents learn more about recycling through information sent home, and with the Campbell's Soup and Box Tops for Education programs. Sacred Heart School children and Sacred Heart Church's youth programs strive to take care of God's gift, the Earth, and all of its natural resources, through conservation, recycling and awareness education. In addition to participating in Stewardship of the Earth, a special collections being taken up in the Diocese of Corpus Christi and in our parish this month, in honor of the retired priests who have devoted their lives to ministering to the people of Rockport and surrounding areas. The Diocesan Retired Priests Pension Fund was established to provide a modest, monthly pension and benefits to retired priests/ such as Fr. Charles Doeherty, retired and formerly at Our Lady of Assumption in Ingleside, as well as Fr. James Hamilton, retired and formerly of St. Mary Star of the Sea in Ingleside.

Thanks to our Volunteer gardeners, Connie Garcia and Manuel Tunchez..and to Will, our grounds staff member, Sacred Heart Church won THIRD PLACE in the Church Category; Sacred Heart School won FIRST PLACE in the School category. The Rockport in Bloom contest was sponsored by the City of Rockport and Keep Rockport Beautiful Committee...Let us continue our Spirituality of Stewardship by being good Stewards of the Earth. If you would like to share your talent for gardening, please contact Connie Garcia @ 729-5177. Thank you to those who have volunteered already.

• Stewardship of the Earth bulletin insert from 4/12/09
• Stewarship of the Earth bulletin insert from 4/19/09
• Stewardship of the Earth bulletin articles

Stewardship of Time and Talent

“If God remains with me, to protect me on this journey I am making and to give me enough bread to eat and clothing to wear, and I come back safe to my father’s house, the Lord shall be my God… Of everything you give me I will faithfully return a tenth part to you” (Gn 28:20-22).

Dear Friends in Christ,

It is very encouraging to be a part of a parish that is filled with such sacrificial people who genuinely want to use their time and talent to make a difference in other peoples lives. I am grateful to God that he has put it in your heart to serve the church in different ways, and I thank you for being a Steward of time and talent.

It is with this notion I am excited to announce for the next two weekends we will begin a celebration and renewal of our commitment to becoming better Stewards of our time and talent for the Glory of God. We will start on September 19th & 20th with all the ministries of the parish being available after mass at a small ministry fair outside the church. If you are not involved in a ministry this would be an excellent opportunity to lean more about one that interests you; however, if you are involved in a ministry please show your support by briefly meeting other ministry members.

The following weekend of September 26th & 27th we will have commitment Saturday/Sunday and we will renew our commitments to serving the church with our time and talents, and I would like to encourage you to join a new ministry that you may feel the Lord is asking you to try.

Part of being a good Steward is our understanding that gratitude is essential for us to truly love and appreciate all that God has given us. Therefore, I would also like to take these next two weekends as an opportunity to thank the ministries for all their hard work. I pray the Holy Spirit will inspire you to join me in thanking the volunteers, the ministries and many other people that work so tirelessly to make our parish a welcoming place to live your Catholic faith. Write a thank you card, make a phone call, say a prayer or simply go up to someone that you see that serves and merely say “thank you” or “you are appreciated”. As small as it may seem, saying these small words can change someone’s life or outlook in how they serve.

Therefore, I close this letter with thanksgiving and gratitude to the Lord Jesus Christ’s Sacred Heart, that He has blessed this parish with wonderful ministries, leaders and volunteers. Please join me in praying that the Lord will bring forth new volunteers, leaders and Stewards with a strong desire to do the will of God.

Gratefully yours in Christ,

Msgr. Louis F. Kihneman
Pastor

• Jerry Iles' Time and Talent Pulpit Talk
• Time and Talent Brochure
• Time and Talent Commitment Form
• Time and Talent Thank You letter

Msgr. Kihneman's Homily from 9-20-09 and Time and Talent Pulpit Talk by Jerry Iles (Click here to download)

Stewardship of Treasure

Stewardship Notes from Our Pastor:

Many of us have experienced first hand in our lives that God cannot be outdone in generosity. It is in this spirit that I want to announce to you that with the recommendation and encouragement of our Parish Pastoral Council, our Parish Finance Committee, and our Parish Stewardship Committee, we will begin to tithe the tithe of our parish. This means that we will no longer take up a special collection for 12 of the extra collections, but on the Sunday that these collections would have taken place we hope that you would place your tithe in the Sunday collection and we will give a tithe from the Sunday collection to these worthy causes. We will tithe the tithe. Our hope is to one day have only on Sunday collection for all collections. For now, we will still take up the black bag collection for the poor of our parish (SVDP) on the first Sunday of the month and the special collections for World Mission Sunday and Retirement Fund collections for Religious and Diocesan Priests. Fund collections for Religious and Diocesan Priests. The Church envelope that you receive monthly at home with reflect this change beginning in January 2010.

• Gary Mysorski's Stewardship of Treasure Pulpit Talk
• Stewardship of Treasure bulletin articles
• Stewardship of Treasure Letters
• Stewardship of Treasure Prayer
• Commitment Card (English)
• Commitment Card (Spanish)

Msgr. Kihneman's Homily from 11-8-09 and Stewardship of Treasure Pulpit Talk by Gary Mysorski (Click here to download)

Msgr. Kihneman's Homily from 11-15-09 (Click here to download)