PRAYER FOR CHRISTIAN STEWARDSHIP

Lord God,You alone are the source of every gift, of the vast array of our universe, and the mystery of each human life.We praise and thank You for Your great power and Your tender, faithful love. Everything we are and everything we have is Your gift, and after having created us, You have given us into the keeping of Your Son, Jesus Christ. Fill our minds with Christ's truth and our hearts with His Love, that in His Spirit we may be bonded together into a community of faith, a parish family, a caring people. In the Name and Spirit of Jesus, we commit ourselves to be good stewards of the gifts entrusted to us, to share our time, our talent and our material gifts as an outward sign of the treasure we hold in Jesus. Amen!

Click here to go to FUNDAMENTALS OF CHRISTIAN STEWARDSHIP

STEWARDSHIP COMMISSION

I.            PURPOSE OF THE COMMISSION

            The Stewardship Commission is a permanent service group to the Pastor, the Parish Pastoral Council, and the other Commissions of the Parish Pastoral Council.  It plans, recommends, and with the Parish Pastoral Councilís approval, implements actions on parish financial support and the effective management and use of parish resources.  These resources include, but are not limited, to parishionerís time, skills, talents and monies that are raised or offered;  paid parish employees; all parish buildings, property and furnishings.

            The Stewardship Commission is concerned with three broad areas:

            1. The effective utilization of parish facilities and resources (including the parish cemetery.)

            2. The Parish Budget.

            3. Creative means of promoting and exercising responsible Christian stewardship as reflected in the financial support of the Church -- this includes support of both the local parish and the larger Church: the Vicariate, the Archdiocese and the Church Universal.

II.            FUNCTIONS OF THE COMMISSION

            A. To review, adjust, finalize, and consolidate the proposed annual budgets of each parish operating unit for presentation to the Pastoral Council and the Pastor, who eventually turns in the proposed budget to the Department of Finance/Administration of the Archdiocese of Detroit for approval.

            B. To monitor actual income and expenditures during the fiscal year according to the; approved budget.

            C. To conduct studies, create or devise plans and alternatives, and make necessary recommendations to the Parish Pastoral Council to avert shortfalls in income projections.

            D. To report to the Parish Pastoral Council on areas of overspending and to make recommendations on cost-cutting measures.

            E. To provide parishioners with annual reports on the financial state of the parish.

            F. To coordinate all fund-raising programs and activities in the parish in accordance with parish priorities and objectives.

            G. To perform studies and recommend the feasibility/viability, financial considerations, and general Parish impact of the acquisition, sale and/or lease of property.

            H. To conduct annual inspections of all parish buildings and properties. To identify safety hazards and recommend improvements.

            I. To preview coverage by Archdiocesan insurance programs and review recommendations with the insurance carrier.

            J. To review, analyze and recommend financial procedures, costs of operations, and other matters affecting these areas:

                1. Efficiency of procedures and effectiveness of internal controls in conformity with the policies of the Archdiocese.

                2. Personnel recruitment, defining employee job duties and responsibilities, and determining job classifications.

                3. Recommend to the Pastor a job classification scale including salaries and fringe benefits and recommend that these are appropriately available to all employees (see Personnel Administration Manual).

            K. To implement Archdiocesan action policies and pertinent laws pertaining to equal opportunity practices.

            L. To review regularly the Parish facilities in order to access safety, adequate repair and accessibility.

            The Stewardship Commission will be considered the Finance Council in accordance with Canon 537, which states:

            Each Parish is to have a finance council with is regulated by universal law as well as by norms issued by the diocesan Bishop; in this council the Christian faithful, selected according to the same norms, aid the Pastor in the administration of Parish goods with due regard for the prescription of Canon 532.                                                                   
 (Canon 537)

III.            STRUCTURE OF THE COMMISSION

            The Stewardship Commission will include interested parishioners, appropriate pastoral staff members, and at least one or more members of the current Parish Pastoral Council.  The Parish Bookkeeper and Parish Office Manager are also in attendance at the monthly Stewardship meetings.  It is recommended that the Commission should include persons knowledgeable in the areas of finance, insurance, law, accounting and other related areas.  Membership on the Stewardship Commission is by appointment of the Pastor.  Every appointment to the Stewardship Commission is renewed by the Pastor each year. 

             Depending on the size of the parish, the following committees fall within the area of the Stewardship Commission:

            1.  Communication

            2.  Budget

            3.  Church

            4.  Support

            5.  Utilization of Resources

            6.  Maintenance

            7.  Personnel

            8.  Cemetery Committee (at St. Mary’s)

            The Commission chooses one of its members to become a member of the Blue Water Vicariate Stewardship Commission.