STEWARDSHIP OVERVIEW
Parish stewardship is a powerful means of contributing to your sense of belonging to St. Mary's Visitation Parish and your understanding of what it means to be a parish member.
Our program for parish membership "Our Call to be Faithful" is a starting point for both new members to our faith community as well as our dedicated long term parishioners. The intent of the program is to expand and deepen what it means to be a member of a parish community, and provide a means by which parish leadership will gain a greater insight into the hopes and needs of the members. It is the sincere intention of parish leadership and parish staff to do their best to provide leadership and to respond to the needs of the parish members. However, being a member of a parish community brings with it a number of responsibilities, to be fulfilled to the best of the ability of the member.
Our parish mission statement defines our mission in terms of worship, education, and service. It is our common responsibility to bring these elements of the mission statement to life by who we are and how we live. The first responsibility is our life of worship. At the minimum, that means participation in the celebration of the Eucharist every Sunday. We encourage you to keep to the habit of worship. This is central to our identity as disciples of the Lord. We also have a responsibility of handing on the faith; this is first of all the responsibility of parents and families. Our parish is here to help you in this. Please take advantage of our fine day school for the faith formation and education of your children. If that is not possible, then be sure to enroll your children in our program of religious education. We are here to serve you in these programs.
We are each called to service. We have the opportunities to be of help to others in need, whether locally or elsewhere. When you are active in this way, you are making the meaning of the Gospel concrete and immediate.
It is under the rubric of service that we consider and fulfill our responsibility of financial support for our parish. If we all take on our just share of this responsibility, we will have adequate financial resources available to fulfill our parish mission statement and the financial stability required for future planning.
Please prayerfully consider how your faith community can be of service to you as well as how you may choose to serve your community. When we speak of being members of the Body of Christ, we are encouraging you to be open to receiving service from your faith community and well as giving it. It is in this way that the Holy Spirit touching us through the words, actions and deeds of our fellow parishioners. As you choose to reach out and become involved in service to your community, you become the face of Christ to others and our parish mission statement comes to life.
