Summary from the Mission at St. Joseph Catholic Church

St. Joseph Catholic Church
Bradenton, FL

October 25-27, 2010

Mission theme: Stewardship is what I do after I say "I believe"... (A Disciple's Response)

Presenter: Fr. Joseph Creedon, Pastor of Christ the King Parish in Kingston, RI Diocese of Providence, member of the board of directors of the International Catholic Stewardship Council (ICSG)

Website: www.catholicstewardship.org

St. Joseph Catholic Church Mission Statement:

St. Joseph Parish is a vital Christ-centered family where members are encouraged to participate actively in the liturgical life and ministries of the Parish according to their God-given talents and treasures.

We are committed to promoting a deeper understanding of our Catholic family and to humbly serve in God's name. We invite everyone to share in this mission in the spirit of our patron, St. Joseph.

I had the great pleasure of hearing Fr. Joe speak at St. Joseph's Catholic Church for our mission for the last 3 days. I was expecting 3 days worth of talks lasting at least 3 hours total but instead Fr. Joe spoke for less than 45 minutes each night with about 15 minutes of prayer and/or review of the previous night and 30 minutes on the topic for the night. You ask what can you get out of just an hour and half of spiritual talks? I am here to tell you it was more motivation than you could possibly need to fire up a Church for a great ministry of stewardship.

Fr. Paul (the Pastor at St. Joseph's) spoke to us tonight before Fr. Joe as to why we were having a Church mission now before Advent and not during Lent. He informed us that we will be having a Church mission during Lent as well but St. Joseph's is about to undergo some changes in their ministry and this was they way to inspire the parishioners to be stewards of our faith. He wanted to try and inspire the parishioners to have the heart of a steward with a spiritual mentality. I would say that Fr. Joe was certainly a great choice to do so.

Here are the highlights from our Church mission.

Goal: To capture the hearts of TWO parishioners who then each capture the hearts of TWO more parishioners who then those FOUR capture the hearts of EIGHT more parishioners who then capture the hearts of SIXTEEN more parishioners... (Growth is exponential)

Fr. Joe spoke about the Sacraments of the Church and the necessity to study each Sacrament and return each one to their original understanding. In looking at three of of the Sacraments, he was able to relate each to the role they play in our stewardship. The three Sacraments he spoke about were Baptism (Monday), Eucharist (Tuesday), and Reconciliation (Wednesday).

Notes:

Monday, October 25, 2010

Baptism

Baptism is a sacrament of rebirth. We are reborn in the waters of baptism.
At Baptism, we enter into the order of the faithful.
We need to remember what actually happened at our Baptism and not just the importance of the day/event.
All ministries of the Church are designed to serve the order of the faithful.
We are given our mission and ministry by God himself at our Baptism.
God has a specific task designed for each one of us.
We are not called to be volunteers meaning we are not called to give only when inclined and when we have time but to be stewards.
We do not have to find Jesus. Jesus finds us.

Tuesday, October 26, 2010

Eucharist

We must understand the signs in front of us.
We must understand the meaning of Passover and understand why Jesus is the Lamb.
In the Old Testament, the blood of the lamb saved the Israelites just as Jesus (blood of the Lamb) came to save us.
Eucharist is our thanksgiving for God's gifts to us.
At Mass and celebration of the Eucharist, we gather together as a community to give thanks.
The Liturgy should be full, active, and conscious participation.
Two reasons for lack of attendance at Mass -- 1) loss of attitude of gratitude and 2) belief that we are not worthy.
We need to develop an attitude of gratitude and realize that no one is worthy to receive Eucharist but it is given to us as a gift.
We need to remember that what we have is not by our own doing but rather a gift from God.
We did not earn it but it was given to us as a gift.

Wednesday, October 27, 2010

Reconciliation

Reconciliation is the most confused (and confusing) Sacrament.
It is the most misunderstood.
It has gone by different names -- Confession, Penance, and Reconciliation.
Confession and Penance are part of the sacrament while Reconciliation is the effect of the sacrament.
When our words do not match-up with our actions, then we are in need of the grace of God's healing.
We need to let go of the idea/notion that we are not worthy to receive communion during Mass.
There are at least 25 times during Mass that we are forgiven for some of our sins (venial sins)
Jesus' ministry -- "I do not care where you have been. I do not care what you have done. I love you. I forgive you. I have set you free."
It is not failing or sinning that is the issue but getting up that is important.
We need to be able to get up and say to our God "I am sorry" and hear him say, "I do not care where you have been. I do not care what you have done. I love you. I forgive you. I have set you free."

**Note that if you are not baptized Catholic or in state of MORTAL sin then you cannot receive communion as you are disconnected from the Church and our beliefs**
 
It is through a better understanding of each of the Sacraments that we will be able to better see our task as stewards of faith. We must remember that as persons (from the Latin root meaning to sound through) God sounds different through each one of us. We must do what we are called to do by God. It is our mission as members of the order of the faithful.

Kris and I just registered as parishioners at St. Joseph's Church and we are already active in a few of the ministries there. We are both excited to get in on the ground level of St. Joseph's Stewardship program. As young adults, we know that we will be the core of the Church in the future. We are excited as a young married couple to get our family involved in Church stewardship from the very start even before children. Ten to twenty years from now I want our entire family active and excited about being stewards of our faith and Church.

I am excited to be a member of this Parish family and I look forward to the role that our new family will play in the mission of our Church.