Parish Accepts $10,000 Challenge
By Carrie McClish - Catholic Voice, Oakland
For Monica Lander and other members of the stewardship committee at Dublin's St. Raymond Parish, the invitation from their counterparts at St. Agnes Parish in Concord was one they couldn't resist. Would their parish accept $10,000 as a challenge to live the Parable of the Talents?
The answer was yes, and during a special liturgy Nov 11 at St. Agnes, she and other members of the committee formally accepted the challenge and a $10,000 check from the Concord parish. The money came with the condition that Dublin parishioners use the funds to live the meaning of the Parable of the Talents as they understood it.
The parable, in the Gospel of Matthew, concerns three servants whose master entrusts them with coins in varying amounts before he leaves on an extended journey. When the master returns, two of the servants have doubled the value of their treasures but the third has buried his money in the ground and has no profit to show. The theme of the reading is to use—not bury—one's talents.
In 1998 St. Agnes Parish itself received a challenge to live out this Gospel when an anonymous parishioner donated $10,000 with the proviso that it be used to fulfill the message in the Parable of the Talents. The parish had already been an active steward through such activities as Habitat for Humanity and the annual Christmas Giving Tree program, and in answer to the parishioner’s challenge they now tried something new.
After the usual collection at Mass, parishioners took part in a "reverse collection," selecting envelopes containing currency ranging from $10 to $60. Then, said David Satterfield, chair of the stewardship committee, they were encouraged to “marry their time and talent with the treasure that they received.”
Parishioners did a variety of things with the money during the 12-month project. One sold meals featuring abalone he had caught; another asked her friends to pledge money for every pound she lost; and another with the gift of song performed in a concert and sold tickets to the event.
At the end of the year the $10,000 donation had become $33,000. The parish donated 10 percent of the $23,000 "profit" to the parish tithing committee, which decided that the money should be used to reunite an immigrant family split between Contra Costa County and El Salvador. The committee then donated $10,000 to the parish elementary school and $10,000 to the capital fund for a ministry center, leaving the $10,000 seed money.
That "seed money" prompted the committed to find another parish that would be willing to take on the challenge, Satterfield said. After a lengthy discussion and consultation with Marge Perez, diocesan stewardship director, and Katherine King, diocesan development director, the committee invited St. Raymond Parish to take on the challenge.
"It is part of the very nature of stewardship to pass on the message through outreach," said Father George Mockel, St. Agnes pastor, who defined stewardship as "the way we practically live out the invitation and the call of Jesus to discipleship." Stewardship requires more than lip service; it presumes "planning and reflection and it challenges us to action," he added.
St. Raymond's stewardship committee members "were very excited and honored" to receive the challenge, said Lander, coordinator of the committee. She noted that it represents another opportunity for the Dublin parish to further reflect and act on its mission as stewards.
Over the years St. Raymond Parish has lent its support to countless local, community-wide and even international causes and charities. Parishioners, for example, have served as volunteer ministers at nearby Santa Rita Prison; equipped four urban schools in the diocese with computer and science labs; and funded a newly founded religious community that serves the poor in Guatemala.
Even the parish's youngest members practice stewardship, said Father Patrick Goodwin, St. Raymond pastor. "Recently one of our classes raised $2,000 dollars for the families of the 9/11 victims."
Like St. Agnes, the Dublin parish plans to distribute envelopes with funds that parishioners can use for investing as they, see fit. But the stewardship committee may also include some empty envelopes in the mix to encourage other kinds of service. The goal is to emphasize the use of time, Lander said.
The committee will launch a pilot program in January with stewardship members and about a dozen other parishioners to give participants time to consider creative options. The parish-wide program is tentatively set to begin in September 2002.
For Monica Lander and other members of the stewardship committee at Dublin's St. Raymond Parish, the invitation from their counterparts at St. Agnes Parish in Concord was one they couldn't resist. Would their parish accept $10,000 as a challenge to live the Parable of the Talents?
The answer was yes, and during a special liturgy Nov 11 at St. Agnes, she and other members of the committee formally accepted the challenge and a $10,000 check from the Concord parish. The money came with the condition that Dublin parishioners use the funds to live the meaning of the Parable of the Talents as they understood it.
The parable, in the Gospel of Matthew, concerns three servants whose master entrusts them with coins in varying amounts before he leaves on an extended journey. When the master returns, two of the servants have doubled the value of their treasures but the third has buried his money in the ground and has no profit to show. The theme of the reading is to use—not bury—one's talents.
In 1998 St. Agnes Parish itself received a challenge to live out this Gospel when an anonymous parishioner donated $10,000 with the proviso that it be used to fulfill the message in the Parable of the Talents. The parish had already been an active steward through such activities as Habitat for Humanity and the annual Christmas Giving Tree program, and in answer to the parishioner’s challenge they now tried something new.
After the usual collection at Mass, parishioners took part in a "reverse collection," selecting envelopes containing currency ranging from $10 to $60. Then, said David Satterfield, chair of the stewardship committee, they were encouraged to “marry their time and talent with the treasure that they received.”
Parishioners did a variety of things with the money during the 12-month project. One sold meals featuring abalone he had caught; another asked her friends to pledge money for every pound she lost; and another with the gift of song performed in a concert and sold tickets to the event.
At the end of the year the $10,000 donation had become $33,000. The parish donated 10 percent of the $23,000 "profit" to the parish tithing committee, which decided that the money should be used to reunite an immigrant family split between Contra Costa County and El Salvador. The committee then donated $10,000 to the parish elementary school and $10,000 to the capital fund for a ministry center, leaving the $10,000 seed money.
That "seed money" prompted the committed to find another parish that would be willing to take on the challenge, Satterfield said. After a lengthy discussion and consultation with Marge Perez, diocesan stewardship director, and Katherine King, diocesan development director, the committee invited St. Raymond Parish to take on the challenge.
"It is part of the very nature of stewardship to pass on the message through outreach," said Father George Mockel, St. Agnes pastor, who defined stewardship as "the way we practically live out the invitation and the call of Jesus to discipleship." Stewardship requires more than lip service; it presumes "planning and reflection and it challenges us to action," he added.
St. Raymond's stewardship committee members "were very excited and honored" to receive the challenge, said Lander, coordinator of the committee. She noted that it represents another opportunity for the Dublin parish to further reflect and act on its mission as stewards.
Over the years St. Raymond Parish has lent its support to countless local, community-wide and even international causes and charities. Parishioners, for example, have served as volunteer ministers at nearby Santa Rita Prison; equipped four urban schools in the diocese with computer and science labs; and funded a newly founded religious community that serves the poor in Guatemala.
Even the parish's youngest members practice stewardship, said Father Patrick Goodwin, St. Raymond pastor. "Recently one of our classes raised $2,000 dollars for the families of the 9/11 victims."
Like St. Agnes, the Dublin parish plans to distribute envelopes with funds that parishioners can use for investing as they, see fit. But the stewardship committee may also include some empty envelopes in the mix to encourage other kinds of service. The goal is to emphasize the use of time, Lander said.
The committee will launch a pilot program in January with stewardship members and about a dozen other parishioners to give participants time to consider creative options. The parish-wide program is tentatively set to begin in September 2002.
Header photo by seadigs (Creative Commons License).