Stewardship Tip April 2009

Is your parish scheduled for a pastor change this summer? How will you help ensure that the growth your parish has made in making stewardship a way of life will be embraced – and continued – by your new pastor? There are no guarantees, of course, but here are a few tips to help “stack the deck” for a smooth transition:

Welcome and hospitality are hallmarks of a stewardship parish. Use generous amounts of both to plan a grateful farewell for your outgoing pastor and to arrange a warm “meet and greet” opportunity for the new one. Two committees – one for each – will spread the work and enhance the quality of both events.
And don’t let the welcome stop there! Members of the stewardship committee (and the bulletin editor) should make a special effort to welcome and get to know the new pastor. Invite him home to dinner, make him feel welcome at your next meeting, and greet him warmly every time you see him… And what about an “In the Spotlight” interview with the parish’s new “Chief Steward” in your next parish newsletter? Take some time to find out what makes him tick – how and when he heard the call, where he’s served before, what he liked best about his “old” parish, what his fondest dreams are for the new one…
Do you have a committee that plans how and to whom to disburse the parish tithe? Assemble and present to the new pastor a colorful report that includes not just the amounts given, but pictures and brochures of the receiving organizations as well. And be sure to add a list of those you’re hoping to help in the coming year, too. Who could look at the history of – and plans for – such generosity and not want to continue?
Plan – and put on the calendar now – the next ministry fair and parish stewardship renewal. A new pastor will have many things to do and lots of people to get to know. Things that are already scheduled – and just “happen” as they normally do – will be a blessing to him.

In fact, you and all the other good stewards in your parish, each one of you seeking to share your time, talents and treasure ever more generously, will be an enormous blessing to him – just as he and his gifts will be to you. Change is hard on everyone. Leaving behind the known and loved and beginning again in a new place with new people is never easy, even under the best of circumstances. So don’t forget to pray – for beloved “Fr. Has-Been” as he moves on to his next assignment and for “Fr. New-Guy” as he arrives as your pastor – that the good work you all have begun in your stewardship parish will continue and will come to fruition the days ahead in ways that will best serve God’s people.

Stewardship Tip April 2009

Welcome and hospitality are hallmarks of a stewardship parish. Use generous amounts of both to plan a grateful farewell for your outgoing pastor and to arrange a warm “meet and greet” opportunity for the new one. Two committees – one for each – will spread the work and enhance the quality of both events.
And don’t let the welcome stop there! Members of the stewardship committee (and the bulletin editor) should make a special effort to welcome and get to know the new pastor. Invite him home to dinner, make him feel welcome at your next meeting, and greet him warmly every time you see him… And what about an “In the Spotlight” interview with the parish’s new “Chief Steward” in your next parish newsletter? Take some time to find out what makes him tick – how and when he heard the call, where he’s served before, what he liked best about his “old” parish, what his fondest dreams are for the new one…
Do you have a committee that plans how and to whom to disburse the parish tithe? Assemble and present to the new pastor a colorful report that includes not just the amounts given, but pictures and brochures of the receiving organizations as well. And be sure to add a list of those you’re hoping to help in the coming year, too. Who could look at the history of – and plans for – such generosity and not want to continue?
Plan – and put on the calendar now – the next ministry fair and parish stewardship renewal. A new pastor will have many things to do and lots of people to get to know. Things that are already scheduled – and just “happen” as they normally do – will be a blessing to him.