In theSpring of 1990, when a new pastor was appointed to St. Agnes Parish, the subject of finances came up at a Pastoral Council meeting. Specifically, the discussion focused on ways to raise the needed funds to sustain the parish activities. The new pastor, Fr. George Mockel, informed the council about a movement within the Church that seeks to incorporate the time and talent of parishioners with money. This aroused the curiosity of the Pastoral Council and a subcommittee was formed to investigate, gather more information about the movement, and report back their findings.
Since the Oakland Diocese had not yet ventured into this movement, the subcommittee realized that we needed to find other resources to learn more about stewardship concepts. Seeing ourselves as pioneers in this respect, we set out to meet representatives of other churches, interviewed a number of ministers from protestant churches, and tapped on the experiences of rabbis in the immediate Jewish communities. The subcommittee was particularly interested in learning what worked or what didn't from among the programs we were hearing about, and we were determined to find one that best fit the traits and characteristics of our own parish community.
Interestingly enough, our pioneering effort led us back to the Catholic community when we met with local priests who were ardent supporters of this new movement. It was during one of these meetings that the stewardship program created by the Archdiocese of St. Louis came to our attention. The subcommittee was particularly drawn by the concept of "Stewardship - A Way of Life". Not only did the members feel that this program included the attributes they were seeking, we were also encouraged by the offer of the Archdiocese Office to help and consult during the formation and implementation of the program at St. Agnes. Thus, the recommendation was presented to the Pastoral Council and was enthusiastically endorsed. As a result, a Stewardship Committee was formed, independent of any other standing committees within the parish.
Throughout the first year, St. Agnes followed the St. Louis program very closely in order to educate both the committee and the parish about stewardship. At the end of the first year, the Stewardship Committee felt that we had learned and understood what it means to make stewardship a way of life, a constant reminder of giving back to God the first fruits of our labor in return for His generous gifts to us of time, talent and treasure.