TIME, TALENT & TREASURE...what's that mean?

Each year, The Diocese encourages every parish to hold a motivational meeting, a type of revival.  A revival to acquaint members of the parish with the needs each parish has; needs to maintain the day to day activities unique to a particular parish.  It's called a Time, Talent & Treasure meeting.

"Where do all the ushers come from?  Where do you get the Lectors and adult servers? The greeters, distributors, choir members and the talented decorators who strive to make the church visually appealing to all." Well, believe it or not, we don't clone them in the church basement!  And, we don't order them from a special Diocesan catalog.  They are members of the parish, just like you.  Well, maybe not exactly just like you, but my point is they are not a special breed; they're ordinary people who understand what the term stewardship really means.

As the Director of Stewardship and Development for the parish, I've had the opportunity to attend numerous seminars and lectures on the topic of stewardship.  I have volumes of published information that detail what stewardship is all about.  Well, after all these seminars and lectures, after delving into the volumes of information in the parish library, I've discovered one simple fact: it's not just about money!  But, if you would ask most people what the term stewardship means, the will usually answer 'fund raising!'  Well, every parish has an operational need that must be satisfied by the generosity of our parishioners and visitors.  But I've got a much better definition of theword; a definition that is founded in the Bible.

We all agree that everything we have, our life, our health, our family, our life style is a gift from God.  Not given to us to keep, but to use.  Not everyone's gifts are exactly the same; not everyone gets to use these gifts for the same amount of time.  The gifts of God are very simple: time, talent and treasure.  How we use each gift is our choice. God only asks that we share these gifts while we use them and return them in abundance to God.  Since most people think of stewardship as just money, let's look at that gift first.

Treasure.  What a fabulous word!  We can have as much as we are willing to work for.  God puts no limitations on each of our success.  The Bible tells us to give back to God a portion of our treasure.  It may be a significant amount or a very small sum, but as Catholics we have a need to give back some of what we have acquired.  And, we need to do it regularly; not if we have a little left at the end of the week, but a definite amount determined at the beginning of the week. Making a commitment to regurlarly return a portion of our treasure to God creates a bond that allows each of us to live up to the biblical explanation of stewardship.  A friend of mine regularly shops at a local market rather then driving to a major city store.  When asked why, he merely says he has to support that store so it can stay in business to service the people who can't get to the big city.  A Catholic Church is in a way a business that needs regular support to be able to help those who need its services.  That's where treasure comes into the picture.  But, what about the person who truly can't afford to regularly give some of his treasure; what can he do?

Time.  Everyone of us has a busy schedule.  Work, family, friends take up almost every minute of our day. But we all seem to find time to socialize, to fish, hunt, play golf or just read a good book.  If we are all honest, we also have time to offer our services to God.  The parish has an on-going need for people who are willing to volunteer.  Those ushers, lectors, servers and everyone else I mentioned earlier are willing to offer a little of their time a few times a year.  The parish welcomes anyone to stop in the parish office to get complete information on volunteer opportunities that are available.  Being able to give back to God a small portion of your time is a part of Catholic stewardship.  You are going to be in church anyway, why not give thanks to God for the gift of time He so generously gave you.

Talent.  The last part of stewardship deals with the wonderful talents you have been blessed with.  On occasion, the parish has the need for some minor services and repairs.  People who are trained electricians, plumbers, mechanics, secretaries and cooks can help the parish as the need arises, if we know who you are and what your talent is.  Volunteerism is the backbone of every parish worldwide.  When the church has a problem, we go to our Talent Volunteer Directory to find someone who can come to our rescue.  God gave you the talent that you have, sharing it with Him is part of Catholic stewardship.

If every member of the parish were to come forward to offer their stewardship services to the parish, they would actually be offering their services to God and to all the members of His church.  Which brings me to my definition of stewardship:

THE UNSELFISH OFFERING OF TIME, TALENT AND TREASURE TO GOD AND TO ALL THE MEMBERS OF YOUR PARISH.