Our Social Justice Mission and Understanding Stewardship
Anne Marie Bartlett, St. John's Social Justice Coordinator

The road to understanding stewardship is not always an easy path. I would like to provide some clarity to questions that have surfaced regarding our Social Mission efforts, the monies that have been gifted to these endeavors, and the future of continued stewardship giving. While we have made a commitment to tithe 10% of monies collected from our Building Faith, Weaving Justice capital campaign, we've had outreach in place here at St. John's for many years.

Most recently, we had Father Paul speak at parish Masses to tell us more about Food for the Poor, an organization that our previous pastor, Father Bill, began to develop a relationship with two years ago. As part of our larger Social Mission initiative, this organization became our global look at how we might serve the poor far away from our local world of New Brighton.

The Food for the Poor representatives were told from the outset that we want them to be with us to share more about the work they do serving the poor. Our own pilgrims from St. John's who went to Jamaica felt called to help build a school for a more promising future for the children in the community of Bull Bay.  At no time was any plea made to give them money, and, subsequently, to raise more funds than what we have already  planned from the capital campaign.

To be sure, Father Paul did talk with clarity about the importance of financial sharing that makes the good work of Food for the Poor possible. As with any special events and speakers, we are called to look at ourselves and our own stewardship.

Every person's response on how and where to share time, talent, and treasure is between oneself and God. To this end, some very significant things are happening.
 
Following are some examples of our stewardship to date:

- Parishioners, 166-plus, have sent, on their own initiative, an amount in excess of $17,000 to Food for the Poor. God bless you. Perhaps more will come and the school will be built.

- We have money in our social mission tithing fund that is sent to North Side Life Care Center in North Minneapolis. The Respect Life Committee also continues to collect for the Annual Baby Bush and raises money through the Mother's Day Corsage Sale. These monies and supplies are given where they are needed as designated by the committee. Volunteers from St. John's also work at North Side Life Care Center.

- Money is budgeted every year for the outreach work of our St. Vincent de Paul Society (SVDP). Two Mass collections, one on Thanksgiving and one on Holy Thursday, are given to SVDP for their good work. Private donations are also made to SVDP throughout the year.

- We support San Miguel Middle School and work at building a relationship with them to share culture and prayer. We have parishioners who give to them outside of our Social Mission tithing.

Stewardship is about giving from a place of gratitude and blessing, and believing from the deepest part of our souls that we must live the way we have been called to live, and to give in a measure that is right with ourselves and our God. When we do so, many lives will be blessed, and, hopefully, we will get to a more trusting, serene place where we can live in the faith that all will have what they need because God has told us He will provide for our needs.

I would like to see us, as a parish, spending more time in prayer about each response to stewardship and social mission work. Living from a place of blessing and gratitude makes for delightful days.

Our recent capital campaign, with the social mission component, is not magical. It will work only so far as how intently each person in the parish searches and prays about what God is asking oneself to give and where each is being called to serve. There is no arm-twisting or pressure.

Feast of the Holy Family: December 31 Masses

• Saturday, December 30   4:30 p.m.
  
• Sunday, December 31   7:30 a.m., 9:30 a.m., 11:15 a.m. & 6:15 p.m.
  
  Feast of Mary, Mother of God (A holy day, but not one of obligation.)
  
  New Year's Eve, Sunday, 31 December 2006
  
• Festival Candlelight Mass: 11:00 p.m. ONLY
  

New Year's Day, Monday, 1 January 2007

• 10:00 a.m. Festival Mass / No 8:00 a.m. Mass!