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Parish Stewardship Renewal
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PARISH STEWARDSHIP RENEWAL - A letter from Fr. Haan“Good and Faithful Servants”
One of the most beautiful and consoling lines in the Gospels is found within Jesus’ Parable of the Talents (Mt 25:14-30). In the well-known narrative, a man entrusts his wealth to three servants. While the one servant who merely preserves the coin is scolded, the other two successfully grow that which was entrusted to them. To each of these two servants the man exclaims, “Well done, my good and faithful servant. Since you were faithful in small matters, I will give you great responsibilities. Come, share your master’s joy.” Of course, these are words each of us hope to hear from Our Lord at the end of our lives! But the lesson is clear: God expects that we be good stewards of what He has entrusted to us; not by merely keeping the status quo, but by striving for spiritual growth and fruitfulness.
I am keenly aware that God (through Bishop Doherty) has entrusted to me the “great responsibility” of leadership and pastoral care of the people of Fishers at St. Louis de Montfort. Along with our incredible parish staff, we strive to be faithful stewards, which means more than merely preserving what we have- it means successfully growing that which was entrusted to us. And I’m excited to report to you that this past year has been one of significant growth in our family of parishioners, our ministries, our school, our weekly Mass attendance, and overall excitement for our parish.
God has asked each of us to be stewards of our skills and abilities, our income, and our possessions, all for the sake of growing His Kingdom and increasing His glory on earth. In the letter you received in the mail, we’ve included several areas of growth within the parish this past year, along with the four dimensions where we believe each parishioner should strive for personal growth. We have great plans, but continued growth at St. Louis de Montfort will require your increased generosity.
I humbly ask that you discern your sacrificial gifts of financial support in both of our 2024 renewal campaigns:- Parish - A pledge for our annual parish stewardship renewal. With the pledge form above, I invite you to discern a gift to help our parish continue to grow. These funds also support our 10% tithe (over $250,000 last year) to wonderful organizations and ministries outside our parish walls. It is only through your generosity that we can continue to see profound growth in our parish.
- Diocese – A pledge for the diocesan Catholic Ministry Appeal (CMA). You will receive this pledge card in a separate mailing! The CMA is our contribution to the overall work of the local church. These funds support efforts to promote and develop vocations to the priesthood, cover the cost of seminary tuition and boarding, and ongoing diocesan clergy formation. The CMA also provides support and resources for Catholic schools, the St. Joseph Retreat Center in Tipton, staffing and operational costs of the diocesan marriage Tribunal, and parish human resources support.
Under the Mercy,
Fr. Thomas J. Haan
Pastor