Dear Parishioners:

“As each one has received a gift, use it to serve one another as good stewards of God’s varied grace” 1Peter 4:10

The theme for this year’s Stewardship Sunday is, A Steward is a servant of All. This idea flows out of the ministry of Jesus who told us he came not to be served but to serve.

In a commercial society, we waste a lot of time and energy trying to gain happiness from possessions; we will never have everything that we want. Taking time to be profoundly grateful for what we already have is a source of wonderful peace and joy. God has already blessed us with so many gifts. The gifts God has given us, including our money, were given to us in a sacred trust. They were meant to be shared. God will judge us by how we have shared the gifts we were given.

Here at the Church of the Annunziata we are blessed with an abundance of gifts. These gifts are evident in the people, in our buildings and in our community. We are blessed with people of faith who share their gifts with others--we are blessed with talents expressed in our liturgies and in our parish organizations and in our monetary contributions.

Prayer is the cornerstone to good stewardship. Stewardship begins with giving time to God in prayer. Then we are able to clearly see our Time, Talent and Treasure and how we can be good stewards of our gifts.

Our parish is in the process of reconstituting our Parish Council, Liturgy Committee, and Grounds and Maintenance committee. If you would be interested in sharing your gifts with any of these committees, please contact me at the rectory office. There will also be a financial report to inform everyone where their contributions have been used. As you will see we are truly blessed.

I ask you to prayerfully consider your gifts and blessings these coming weeks. Some points to consider in making your discernment might be:

Do I give the first day of the week to God by attending weekend Mass?

Do I make it a priority to share my time and talent in ministry?

Do I give a first share of my treasure to God, bringing to the altar a gift that is planned and proportionate to the many gifts God has given to me?

Thanks again for all your gifts that you share with our parish community and let us pray for one another as we all strive to follow the gospel message to be good and faithful stewards.

God’s Blessings,

Msgr. John Shamleffer