When we believe that stewardship is a faith decision, we believe that God will always meet our needs. Every registered parishioner is invited and encouraged to become an active member of the parish, embracing our commitment as a Full Stewardship Parish Community and making Stewardship their way of life.
An active Lourdes parishioner is:
One who is involved in the mission of our Parish
- in our liturgical life
- in our formational and educational goals
- in our community life and
- in our outreach activities and
One who adopts stewardship as their way of life
- by completing an annual intention card of Time, Talent and Treasure and
then faithfully fulfilling one’s commitments of Time, Talent and Treasure.
We believe God blesses each of us with gifts of time, talent, and treasure and that everything we have comes from God. God calls each of us to be “faithful stewards” of our lives, our time, our talents, and our financial blessings by sharing them consciously and deliberately. Faithful stewards give back to God out of gratitude for all the gifts that God has bestowed on them. Faithful stewards give their “first fruits” to God…meaning they give of their time, talent, and treasure back to God first… and then use the rest for their own needs and wants.
Your gifts of time and talent are very important to us. In this directory, there is a listing of the various ministries and committees that need your time, talent, and interest. We ask each parish member to prayerfully consider these opportunities and make a definite decision to choose ministries that you can faithfully serve. If you offer your services and are not called, please know that we are not avoiding your offer. If this happens, please call and see what the status is. We might be over-staffed in one area and short-handed in another and perhaps you would be comfortable in changing your selection.
Your treasure commitment is equally important to us. We aspire to the biblical standard of contributing 10% of our total income to charity. We here at Lourdes, invite you to become a faithful steward and expect you to contribute 5% of your total income to the parish and ask that you use the other 5% for charitable contributions such as the Archdiocesan Catholic Services Appeal, the United Way, the Red Cross, special gifts, and other worthy requests. Educating our parish youth is one of the most important missions of the parish and also one of the most expensive. As a Full Stewardship Parish, stewardship contributions from the entire community are budgeted to cover educational expenses. Parish households with children accepted in either the parish school or the ERE (Evening Religious Education) program at Our Lady of Lourdes who fulfill the definition of an active parishioner will incur no tuition charge. An annual cost of approximately $4,500 is budgeted for the education of each child in the parish school. We ask that all households keep this cost in mind when completing their treasure intention card.
If a household experiences financial hardship and your intention cannot be fulfilled, you must contact Father Nick or Marge Borders at the parish office. All calls are held in strictest confidence. As a parish household, if you have not fulfilled the definition of an active parishioner, as described in these guidelines, and you have not contacted the parish office, your stewardship status could be jeopardized.
As a member of Our Lady of Lourdes parish, you are asked to make stewardship your way of life.
A faithful steward…
- accepts ownership of the parish as their responsibility for God’s work.
- looks within to determine what the commitment to a “stewardship way of life”
means personally.
- signs up for ministries they will enjoy and find stimulating.
- is true to their word – following through on all commitments of time, talent, and
treasure.
- gives generously of the “first fruits” of the household income.
- knows that the parish community needs them and they need the community,
from “cradle to grave”.
As a stewardship parish Our Lady of Lourdes is also called to…
- commit 10% of all the parish receives to needs outside of the Lourdes
community. This includes income of parish organizations.
- be accountable to you with financial reports periodically, bulletin notices and
updates in the “Lourdes Life” which is sent to all parishioners and the “Bearcat”
which is available to all parishioners on our web site.
- budget and follow an approval process for all parish expenditures through
experienced committees, qualified staff, and ultimately the pastor.
realize that the parish would not exist without the parish community.
Stewardship is a lifestyle conversion that, when nurtured, continues to grow and flourish! We welcome and challenge all parishioners to live their baptismal call and to be a visible expression of the Body of Christ.
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| Our Lady of Lourdes - Stewardship Committee |
|
| Name | Phone | E Mail Address |
| Mr. Jeffrey S Beavin | 412-3190 | jeffb@ourlourdes.org |
| Mr. Richard Butsch | 459-1855 | rlelandb@bellsouth.net |
| Mr. Michael Erskine | 895-7573 | merskine@insightbb.com |
| Mrs. Mary Hill | 893-6677 | mmshill@gmail.com |
| Mr. Ken Lanham, Jr | 894-0037 | kenlanhamjr@insightbb.com |
| Mr. George Lehmann | 473-0186 | george@insuredbenefitplans.com |
| Mrs. Linda Leonard | 423-7126 | tomleo@bellsouth.net |