Insert to the Parish Bulletin for Sunday, July 28, 2019
A Message from the Parish Stewardship Council
In Living Beyond Sunday: Growing, Praying and Serving (GPS), our Stewardship Council is introducing a renewed call to all our parishioners to live a stewardship way of life. The goal of this initiative is to re-engage our parish community at large and to create a greater awareness of the countless opportunities for a stewardship way of life throughout the week.
Living Beyond Sunday: GPS consists of five phases. Here is a working timetable for the phases of our shared journey in stewardship:
Phase 1: Introduction to Living Beyond Sunday: Growing, Praying and Serving (summer, 2019)
Phase 2: Growing (September through December 2019)
Phase 3: Praying (January 2020 through June 2020)
Phase 4: Serving (September 2020 through December 2020)
Phase 5: Assessment: How Have You Grown as a Stewardship Disciple?
Each phase is designed to encourage and assist all of us in growing and strengthening our personal awareness and practice of stewardship in action. Each phase will have a specific focus and will include practical information, resources and activities designed to nurture our lives as Catholic stewards. This information will be communicated in the weekly parish bulletin, on the parish website and through parish social media tools. Check out the new banners now hanging in the back of church and in the narthex and look for the GPS logo to be displayed here and there around the parish campus, too!
Because we believe that the Holy Spirit often acts as our Spiritual GPS, we ask the Holy Spirit to guide us through each phase of our stewardship journey and to inspire all of us to become more grateful, responsible and charitable stewards of our abundant gifts.
This summer we encourage all our parishioners to ask this question: How is Catholic Stewardship a part of my daily life even now? For example: Are you a weekend greeter at Mass? Have you made a meal for Saint John's Hospice or a neighbor in need? Do you give someone a ride to church or a doctor's appointment? Do you participate in the Stewardship Day of Service? Do you coach a sport? Do you give blood? Do you collect donations or run/walk for a worthy cause? Do you participate in a work-sponsored charity event? These are all simple, but practical examples of stewardship in action. Many of us are already Living Beyond Sunday!
If you would like to get more involved in one of the many parish ministries active at Saint Elizabeth, visit the parish website (www.saintelizabethparish.org) and look for the link to "Finding My Path in Stewardship." Here you will find many opportunities for you to grow, increase and strengthen your stewardship identity.
As you reflect upon how God is calling you to live a life of renewed stewardship, imagine that Jesus himself is sitting across the table helping you decide what to do. What would your conversation with Jesus be like? What is Jesus asking you to do as one of his modern-day disciples? How can you answer the call and be a living example of Living Beyond Sunday?
Fr. Tom Mullin and the Parish Stewardship Council
Insert to the Parish Bulletin for Sunday, July 28, 2019
Extraordinary Year of Mission; October 2018-2019
2019 Missionary Cooperation Appeal: Diocese of Yaounde, Cameroon, Africa
“The Poor, Too, Are God’s Children”
The Diocese of Yaounde created the program called “The Poor Too Are God’s Children” with the aim of creating opportunities for women and children, orphans and disabled persons, the poor and the marginalized, all of whom are often forgotten. This program is designed to supply things like water, education, shelter, medication and food to thousands of people, especially children who suffer and at times die as a direct result of the lack of clean, healthy water.
To give you an idea of what young people are exposed to on a daily basis in Cameroon, listen to this story of Essomba and Ndi:
Essomba Stephanie was a promising young girl who wanted to become an engineer. She was at the top of her class in the elementary school she attended in her small village near Akono. Every morning before school she had to wake up at 5:00 AM and walk approximately 3 miles to fetch water in the nearby river for her parents and for herself to take a shower. She also had to walk 5 miles each way to and from school. But after losing both parents at age 10, Essomba could not feed and care for herself; shortly after that, she dropped out of school.
Ndi was 7 years old when her father died from HIV/AIDS. Unable to provide for Ndi and her two siblings by herself, the mother withdrew her from school and “leased” her as domestic labor to a wealthy family. Instead of school, the 7 year-old started working as housemaid for food and a salary to help her siblings.
Sadly, the fates of Essouma and Ndi are very common not only in Akono, but across Africa. “The Poor, Too, Are God’s Children program serves children like Essomba and Ndi. Here are several specific projects we hope to realize in 2019-2020:
1) Water Projects: We want to supply clean water to 5 villages of about 15,000 to 20,000 people each by drilling wells that will provide clean drinkable and disease free water. It will cost about $50,000 to supply clean water that will save the lives of thousands of people. Most people who fall sick in Cameroon suffer from water related diseases such as cholera and typhoid, among others. In fact, every glass of water given to children is a potential killer! We want to stop that threat by drilling wells for drinkable water.
2) Education- Building Catholic Schools: One of the most effective ways of putting an end to poverty and discrimination is to educate young people. Providing an education at a relatively low cost to young people, and especially to women who are often left aside, will ensure a brighter future for them. Education is also an effective way to evangelize young people; most of our Catholic schools enroll large numbers of Muslim and Presbyterian children. The local Catholic school is a powerful evangelization tool for our diocese in Cameroon.
3) Evangelization & Formation for Catechists and Seminarians: Because many of our parishioners are converts to the Catholic Church, we focus on the training of catechists, who in turn become the basic teachers for the RCIA and confirmation programs in parishes and mission churches across the diocese. In addition, the diocese also carries the cost of seminary formation for those young men called to the priesthood.
The proceeds of this year’s mission appeal will be shared as follows: 30% on water projects; 20% for school construction and 10% for tuition assistance for orphans; and 40% on evangelization and faith formation. Thank you for your generosity to the people of Yaounde, Cameroon!