The Catholic Steward provides stewardship education to Catholic pastors and lay leaders. Here we bring together many of the best practices in developing stewardship within Catholic parishes and show how stewardship is deeply connected to spirituality. Stewardship is not a fundraiser, rather it is a spiritual process that calls us to conversion and into a deeper relationship with Christ.
Here, at The Catholic Steward, you will find stories from pastors and parish leaders across the United States who have been successful in developing stewardship time and again. If you have any comments or would like to contact us, e-mail us at tcs@catholicsteward.com.
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Contributors
Msgr. Thomas McGread
Beginning in the 1960s, Msgr. Thomas McGread built one of the most vibrant parishes in the country by teaching parishioners how to use their personal gifts, or what he called “time, talent, and treasure.”
Msgr. McGread was influential in the drafting of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops’ (USCCB) pastoral letter, Stewardship: A Disciple’s Response, which adopted his terminology and theological vision. Msgr. McGread’s message is so compelling that he has been invited to parishes and dioceses across the country, and has also been the keynote speaker at several ICSC conferences.
Eric McArdle
Eric McArdle is the President of Catholic Stewardship Consultants. Eric developed the award-winning process that Catholic Stewardship Consultants uses when working with parishes across the country. Parishes implementing this process have received multiple awards from the ICSC; they have been successful in deepening the spirituality of stewardship throughout the parish; and they have also experienced continued increases in parishioners’ gifts of time, talent and treasure. Eric has worked with parishes across the country on every aspect of developing stewardship as a way of life.
Fr. Allan McDonald
It has been nearly 15 years since Fr. Allan McDonald introduced stewardship at his former parish, Most Holy Trinity, which is a very diverse inner city parish of 1,100 households. Over time, the parish experienced an increase in Mass attendance, began many new ministries, and saw a large increase in parishioner involvement. The offertory tripled, and a $2 million restoration of their historic church was completed without incurring any debt. In recent years parishioners’ children were able to attend a neighboring Catholic school without paying tuition. In 2004, Fr. McDonald was re-assigned to St. Joseph parish, in Macon, Ga., and has experienced similar results in developing St. Joseph as a stewardship parish.
Fr. Dave Zimmer
Father Dave Zimmer and the parish of St. John the Apostle in Minot, N.D, where he has served as pastor since 2002, have been committed to developing stewardship as a way of life since 2005. After attending the Msgr. McGread Stewardship Conference in Wichita in March 2005, Fr. Dave began taking formal steps to introduce the spirituality of stewardship. In this short time, this parish of approximately 650 households has experienced deepened spirituality, especially in liturgies. They have seen significant increases in participation in parish ministries. Under Fr. Dave’s pastorate, they have also expanded the number of ministries based on feedback from parishioners and have seen increases in financial participation, as well.
Fr. Michael Troha
Fr. Michael Troha has been the pastor of Immaculate Conception Parish in Willoughby, Ohio, since 2004. After attending a Msgr. McGread Stewardship Conference in Wichita in February 2005, he began to put into practice what he learned at that conference. In the time since, Immaculate Conception has developed as a vibrant stewardship parish. The spirituality of stewardship and its connection to discipleship is being spread throughout the parish, and Immaculate Conception is experiencing increases in spiritual growth, parishioner ownership, parishioner involvement and financial giving.
Deacon Don McArdle
Deacon Don is the CEO of Catholic Stewardship Consultants and is a Deacon at St. Mary on the Hill in Augusta, Ga. Deacon Don works closely with parishes from across the country on all aspects of developing stewardship as a way of life and has particular expertise in working to develop lay leaders within the parish.
Msgr. P. James Costigan
Msgr. Jim Costigan introduced stewardship at St. Mary on the Hill parish more than 15 years ago. By following the direction and example of Msgr. McGread, Msgr. Costigan successfully transformed St. Mary’s into a Total Stewardship Parish. In addition to a weekly Mass attendance that is about twice the national average, and their continued increases in parishioner involvement, perpetual adoration has been ongoing for more than ten years, the 500-student parish grade school is tuition-free, the parish offertory continues to increase and is approximately $75,000 per week, there are no second collections and all of the parish ministries and outreach efforts are funded through the parish offertory. Today, he is the pastor of St. Peter the Apostle in Savannah, Ga., and is in the early stages of introducing and developing stewardship there.
Dan Loughman
Dan Loughman is the Coordinator of Stewardship for the Diocese of Wichita, and previously served as Chief Financial Officer and Director of Stewardship for the diocese. Dan has worked with renowned stewardship pioneer Msgr. Thomas McGread since the 1960s, and helped transform St. Francis of Assisi in Wichita, Kansas, into a model stewardship parish. He later worked with Bishop Eugene Gerber and Msgr. McGread to transform the Diocese of Wichita into a total stewardship diocese. Dan is also an original member of the St. Francis of Assisi Stewardship Committee and has been a parishioner there for more than 40 years.
