Supporting our Church, our Community, spreading God’s Word – recognizing the gifts we have been given: cultivating and using them in the interest of justice and charity; being able to come before God and account for how well we have used them: This is being a Good Steward.

The late Archbishop Thomas Murphy of Seattle defined Stewardship as follows: "Stewardship is the ability to share one's gifts of life, time, talents, and resources with others with no strings attached and no conditions."

No strings and no conditions! Being a good steward implies more than simply a weekly/monthly/yearly envelope, although financial support is a real and very important part of good stewardship for the spiritual and physical work of the church and the financial health of our parish community.

Being a good steward implies a recognition of our Baptismal commitment, of the grace to live the life of the Gospel of Jesus, of the acknowledgement that our gifts were given to us by God to share with his people. It means caring for others and often sacrificing for them and for the community.

Gratitude for our gifts and talents leads to a motivating force that prompts us to give back to God. We are each unique, so the way we give back to God will vary according to our abilities, our treasures, our talents and our time. It is up to us to find out how we can best serve the people of God. It is up to us to share our gifts with others.

As disciples of Jesus, we build up his church and enrich our community through faith, justice and love.

Our talents are needed in many ways in our Parish Community of St. Peter. We can be part of a commission or serve on committees; we can volunteer for Liturgical Ministries, Children’s Liturgy of the Word, for Parish School of Religion, to lead a group for Confirmation. We can become part of the RCIA team, a member of St. Vincent DePaul, part of the Small Faith Sharing groups and many other ways.

Visit the Ministries section to learn more about each of these and other ministries in the parish. We cannot stand by and let others do it all. We are each called to be good stewards of all that God has given us. How this happens in our lives is a reflective and responsible decision.