It’s not a master plan on how to raise money for a new parish hall, pay off an old debt or beef up weekly donations at Mass.

Stewardship is nothing less than a conversion of the heart.

That was the message delivered by Monterey Bishop Sylvester Ryan at the June 8 Stewardship Retreat Day held at St. Ignatius Loyola Parish Center in Sacramento.

Sponsored by the Sacramento Diocese’s Office of Stewardship and Development, the event drew 75 pastors, parish staff members and parishioners from 35 Northern California parishes.

In his keynote address on the spirituality of stewardship, Bishop Ryan said that rather than thinking of stewardship as a program to be activated, it needs to become a way of life.

“Stewardship is finding out where Jesus lives in ourselves, in our families, in our society, in our world,” he noted.

Bishop Ryan, who has spoken about stewardship in dioceses across the country, is chairman of the National Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Ad Hoc Committee on Stewardship. He has also served as president of the California Catholic Conference since 1997.

In addressing the spirituality of stewardship, Bishop Sylvester Ryan said that rather than thinking of stewardship as a program to be activated, it needs to become a way of life. Nancy Westlund/Herald photo

Bishop Ryan explained that the spirituality of stewardship “is rooted in our hunger to grasp what is authentically human and good about ourselves.”

“It’s a hunger to understand and be touched by the grace and the presence of Christ in our lives,” he said.

To become good stewards, he added, men and women of faith must first become disciples.

“Once you choose to become a disciple of Jesus Christ, stewardship is not an option,” he said.

To discover discipleship, Catholics living in a “consumer culture” must simplify their lives and “we’ll find we have more treasure to give others,” Bishop Ryan contended.

He also urged participants to question “whether we give of our time, treasure and talent because there is a need or a project, or because we have a need to give and we are a project.”

“I think we have to learn that we have the need,” he said, “realizing in gratitude that all the gifts we have are gifts, that we own nothing and we own everything.”

Catholics need to discover if their lives are congruent with their worship in the Eucharist, Bishop Ryan stressed.

“Remember when you stretch out your hand (to celebrate the Eucharist) you must provide the same kind of meal in your parish, school, office and life,” he said.

Participants in the one-day workshop also attended one of five breakout sessions focusing on stewardship ministries.

In one session, Patty Cole, director of stewardship at St. Basil Parish in Vallejo, talked about how the parish’s 10-member stewardship committee, which was formed in October, has played a significant role in the enrichment of parish life.

“A part of good stewardship is not just what our parishioners give to us, but what we give back to them…in creating the kind of community they want,” Cole said.

So the stewardship committee began by sending out a parish survey to 335 parishioners. And when they found out people wanted more welcoming in their church community, the committee answered the challenge. A program to welcome new parishioners included distribution of an information packet and quarterly receptions for new parishioners.

A neighborhood ministry was begun, Cole said, which involves dividing up the parish’s more than 2,000 people into small geographic grids to facilitate ministry to the homebound and transporting people to Mass.

After polling parishioners regarding their time and talents, the committee has encouraged more active participation in parish life through involvement in the church’s 26 ministries.

Cole emphasized that stewardship is not a one-way street and the importance of such procedures as publishing parish financial statements should not be overlooked.

“You can’t launch a stewardship effort emphasizing treasure without accountability,” she noted.

The Office of Stewardship and Development is planning two more stewardship workshops during the summer months. For more information, call Mimi Scherber at (916) 733-0266.

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