Stewardship Reflection

January 15, 2012

In all three of this Sunday’s readings, we hear about discipleship. God reveals Himself to man, and man responds to God’s revelation by following Him – giving up His old life and living for the Lord.
In the first reading from First Samuel, we hear God calling out to Samuel, who “was not familiar with the Lord, because the Lord had not revealed anything to Him as yet.” So, Samuel ran to Eli, believing the voice he heard calling him to be Eli’s. Finally, upon the second calling, Eli realized what was happening, and told Samuel that the Lord’s call required a response. “…If you are called, reply, ‘Speak Lord, for your servant is listening.’ ”
Samuel did just that, and the writer tells us, “Samuel grew up and the Lord was with him always, not permitting any word of his to be without effect.” Samuel gave his life to the Lord, and the Lord guided his steps and ultimately used Samuel to proclaim Him to the nations.
In the Gospel reading from John, we hear a similar story. Here, we see Christ calling His disciples, and, like the Lord used Eli to reveal Himself to Samuel, Jesus reveals Himself to two disciples using John the Baptist.
John proclaims, “Behold the Lamb of God,” and at that moment, the two disciples see who Jesus is and they begin to follow Him.
What’s more, the Gospel tells us that Andrew found his brother Simon and told him, “We have found the Messiah.” Then, he brought him to Jesus, garnering yet another disciple for Christ. Simon responded to that revelation in the same way His brother and the other disciple had – he began to follow the Lord and change his life accordingly.
Christ calls each one of us to be His disciples. Just like He called Samuel and Andrew and Simon, He calls us today. Sure, most of us will not hear His voice audibly calling or will see Him walking down the road beckoning to us, but He calls us just the same. Tugging on our hearts, He calls us to Himself. We were made to live for Him, so, even though we don’t see him or hear Him in the traditional way, we are drawn to Him just the same.
Truly, like St. Augustine of Hippo proclaimed in His professions, “Our hearts are restless, O Lord, until they rest in thee.”
In addition, the Lord reveals Himself to us in a multitude of ways. He shows forth His goodness and His beauty in nature. He reveals Himself to us through the goodness of others, and, in much the same way as He did with Samuel and the first Christian disciples, the Lord uses others as His instruments to call us to Himself. It is our duty to respond to His call, to give Him our lives, and, like Samuel, Andrew, Simon and he disciple who is unnamed in this gospel passage do, to choose to live our lives for Him. We offer Him ourselves, our time, our talents and our treasure, and, through the way we live our lives “avoiding immorality,” and “glorifying God in our bodies, as Paul exhorts the Corinthians to do, really by committing to live for God, to glorify Him in all we do – at home, at church, at work and elsewhere – we serve as His instruments, calling others to follow Him, just like Eli and John the Baptist have done.
Let us all take ownership of our responsibilities as Christian disciples, and devote ourselves to live for Christ, to follow Him and glorify Him in all we do, bearing witness to others of the wonderful God we serve and calling others to live for Him as well.

 

October 30, 2011

In today’s Gospel, Christ says the religious leaders of the day, the Scribes and the Pharisees, do not practice what they preach. They seem to be using their positions of power for their own glory. Christ uses this example to teach a lesson — “Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.”

In the second reading, St. Paul and his companions are in Thessalonica doing the Lord’s work – proclaiming the Gospel, and, for the ability to do so, Paul says, “We give thanks to God unceasingly.” They are there to serve the Lord, to show the people the truth of the Gospel and to rejoice with them as they convert to Christ. Talk about stewardship in action!

There’s nothing wrong with being appreciated for our talents. But as Christian disciples and stewards of God’s many gifts, we must always remember that all good things come from Him, and we must live our lives in humble service and in gratitude for all He has given us.

September 25, 2011

One of the freedoms God has given us is the freedom to change our minds. The two sons in Jesus' parable exercised that freedom when their father asked them to work in his vineyard one day.
The first son refused, but then changed his mind and went. The second agreed to work but never showed up. In the same way, the sinners who responded to the preaching of St. John the Baptist obeyed God when those religious leaders who seemed to be holy refused to actually do so, and so the repentant sinners were the ones who entered the Kingdom of God.
We Christians know we should do the will of God the Father, but we tend to be fickle and not follow through on our intention to obey God's will.
We need God's grace to be constant and to help us develop "the same attitude that is also in Christ Jesus," as St. Paul wrote to the Philippians.
As Christ gave up the glory of heaven to die on our behalf, so we have a challenge: "Do nothing out of selfishness or out of vain glory: rather, humbly regard others as more important than yourselves."
If we accept that challenge, and change our minds from serving ourselves first, it will inevitably change the way we use the time, the talent, and the treasure entrusted to us.

What is Stewardship?

We hear Stewardship, but what does it mean? "Steward," is an English translation of the Latin noun "procurator". A synonym for Steward is "Administrator". Stewardship is the careful and responsible management of something entrusted to ones's care. What is entrusted and to whom is entrusted? The answer is simple - everything is entrusted and everything is entrusted to all of us. Over the next several weeks Stewardship will be a main focus. Together we will see who is God calling to serve the people of Holy Cross. Is He asking you to serve? Is He asking you to volunteer? If He is not asking you, then just who is He asking?

Think - Pray - Inquire

Stewardship: the careful and responsible management of something entrusted to ___________. Could it be YOU?

There will be opportunity to sign-up for different ministries. For more information please contact the Parish Office for further details. Thank you and God bless you!

Focus Group Descriptions

Liturgical

Lector - present Liturgy of the Word at masses.

Eucharistic Minister: Distributes Communion

Musician and song leaders: plays and executes music in with collaboration of the head musician

Usher: Directs traffic flow, takes up the collection and prayer basket, census directs the offertory procession

Sacristan: In charge of matters and items relating to worship -vessels, vestments, lighting, sound, baptismal font, oils, relics etc and Master of Ceremonies.  Responsible for matters and items at specific celebrations.

Gift Presenters - carry challis, wine and hosts to altar during mass

Refreshments - prepare punch and muffins to be served at the 8:30 a.m. and 10:30 a.m. masses

Greeters: Assists in the welcoming parishioners and guests to mass and special events

Altar Society- Establishes standards for the altar area, vestments and vessels, Recruits and trains others to maintain the cleanliness of the altar, vestments and church decorations.  Assists the preside and sacristan.

Altar Servers - assists the presider and sacristan

Special Celebrations - assist with the Liturgy for special masses. 

Children & Youth

Weekly Religious Education (K through 8th grade): September to May, once weekly classes to explain and discuss Catholic teachings in a fun and friendly way.

Confirmation I (9th grade) and Confirmation II (10th grade): Two year preparation for the sacrament of Confirmation.

Youth Ministry: The mission of our Youth Ministry is to live as disciples of Jesus Christ in today's world, drawing other youth into active participation in the faith community while nurturing personal spiritual journeys.

Peer Minister: Young people who have recently completed the sacrament of Confirmation who wish to act as a peer minister to other students currently preparing for Confirmation.

Children's & Teen Catechumenate: Two year preparation for youth receiving a sacrament(s) out of sequence.

First Communion Helper: Adult volunteers to work in classroom rotations at annual First Communion Retreat (one Saturday morning in March) and  in the spring to assist families 30 minutes before the mass at which their child is receiving the sacrament of First Communion.

Liturgy of the Word: During Mass take youth out to discuss, to explain scriptures and concepts from that week's readings, using materials provided by Program Coordinator.

Christmas Pageant: Annual reenactment of the birth of Christ with roles filled by parish youth K through 12th grade.

Sonshine Summer: For children 4 years through 5th grade, one week each July (4-6pm).  Program includes scripture discussion, games, crafts and food.  Culminates in a mass and family BBQ on Friday. 

Outreach Committee Descriptions

Data Base - Update and input all information regarding the Parish Families. 

Hospitality- First contact that a new or returning parishioner would meet and talk concerning all the ministries and functions available at Holy Cross Catholic Committee Church. Formation of welcome basket.

Ronald McDonald Program - Prepare and deliver meals twice a month to families staying at the Ronald McDonald House in Reno

Robert Mitchell Breakfast Program - Participate in the weekly set-up and delivery of breakfast to Robert Mitchell Elementary School classrooms.

New Parishioner Welcome:  Plan events to introduce and welcome new parishioners.

Family Promise  - Provides food, and shelter for one week every two months for local homeless families trying to get back on their feet.

Human Concerns -  Coordinate charitable outreach programs, develop new programs as the need and opportunities, parish education on Cathonlic Social teachings and prepare master calender regardina all Social Justice activities.

Retreats - Develop and implement spiritual retreats for parishioners and local Catholics.

Nursing Homes - Provide Mass and Eucharist for residents of local nursing homes.

Home Visits - Provide Eucharist and fellow to local homebound Catholics. 

Adult Faith Formation

Right of Christian Initiation of Adults (RCIA) - The three sacraments of Christian initiation (Baptism, Confirmation and Holy Eucharist) brings the Elect together in Christ to carry out the mission of God.  The process lasts from September to May with meetings every Wednesday night for 90 minutes.

Why Catholic - There are two, six week iterations starting in October and February.  This faith-building program is organized by the National Renew Organization to foster better understanding of the Catechism to enrich our spirituality.  Small groups of 5-8 people meet for six weeks.

Diocesan Annual Conference - Represent HCCC as a volunteer at the conference.

Men's Prayer Breakfast - This monthly breakfast is open to all men of the Parish.  Breakfast starts at 7 am on the first Saturday of the Month, and followed by a prayer service.  Guest speakers from our religious community will be scheduled two or three times a year.

Adult Bible Study - Bible Study occurs every Monday (New Testament) and Wednesday (Old Testament) from 6-7 PM in one of the classrooms at Holy Cross.  Scripture readings include catholic doctrine commentaries and small group discussion is encouraged.

Diaconate & Lay Ministry - This is a four-year process.   Workshops occur one weekend a month with an annual retreat at the beginning of each year.  Application and approval rests with the Diocese.

Baptism - coordinate monthly classes for parents and Godparents.

Marriage Preparation -  Assist with documentation and preparing couples for the sacrament of marriage.

Parish Mission - Help coordinate speakers and musicians for the annual Parish Mission.  A guest speaker is asked to speak on a certain faith-building topic. The Parish Mission is conducted in 3 to 4 evening sessions combining prayer and song with the formal talk.   

Stewardship

Wine Tasting Auction - Annual Fall fundraiser - largest Parish fundraiser ($20-25k

Reno Air Races - Volunteers work the Reno Air Races parking cars and delivering coolers.  Proceeds benefit Holy Cross ($4K-$5K)

Parish Website - Update and maintain church website with Parish information, news and events.

Stewardship Committee: Oversee the Time, Talent and Treasure at Holy Cross to include parish communication (weekly bulletin, Parish website) and fundraising events (Wine Tasting and Silent Auction, and Parish Golf Tournament).

Prayer Chain - Ministry designed to promote prayer requests from the parishioners.

Women's Group- The mission of the Women's group is to foster a Catholic community that comes together monthly through fellowship, service, continuing education and prayer.  Our goal is to nurture one another in the hope of building stronger communities.

Knights of Columbus:  Our mission at Holy Cross Catholic Community is support our priest and the parishioners through volunteerism and providing charity grants when possible. 

Joy Group:  JOY stands for Just Older Youth, a group that meets in remembrance of Jesus' ministry -  “to eat, pray, heal”.  Monthly meetings include prayer/meditations, a potluck lunch, an inspirational/education program and time to work on quilt/shawl project(a ministry dedicated to healing, love and hope to those in need of prayer ad comfort)  or maybe just a rousing game of Bingo and enjoy the fellowship of friends.

Respect for Life - Ministry designed to support various prolife activities.

Fiesta Guadalupana: Help plan the celebration for Our Lady of Guadalupe. 

Buildings and Grounds

Building Maintenance and Grounds:  Insure that both the exterior and interior physical attributes of the Holy Cross Catholic Community Property is kept in an acceptable appearance and all related equipment is maintained in a professional and operable manner. 

Adopt a Highway- clean up Vista Blvd. throughout the year, especially around the church. 

Finance

Count Teams---Count Teams receive the sealed plastic bags from the previous days Masses, one bag per Mass.  They inspect the bags before opening to be sure there are two signatures on the outside and no signs of tampering.  The bag is opened, counted and a Count Sheet is created according to the established count procedures.  A second counter recounts and both counters turn the signed count sheet over to the day's recorder.

Walking Together - Annual Building Campaign - Annual fundraising campaign to pay off the mortgage debt of the Parish.  This event is coupled with the annual CSA campaign. 

Leadership Councils

Parish - The function of the Parish Council is to discern the direction of the parish, while being faithful to the parish mission and to the Gospel.  Members consider the pastoral and spiritual needs of the parish such as faith formation, worship, outreach, seniors and youth.

Members are prayerful, with a desire to build consensus among council members.

Finance - In a consultative manner, the finance council works in collaboration and cooperation with the pastor and parish council on financial matters. This council will develop an annual budget, long-range financial goals and prepare financial reports of the parish.