A Letter From Our Pastor: The Future Of Stewardship At St. Leo’s

Dear Parishioners,

We are not experts in the area of stewardship, but we are blessed with experiences that include conversions of mind, heart and soul. Who can deny that our parish has changed dramatically since we decided to adopt stewardship as a way of life? It has defined our spirituality, helping us to put the pillars of parish stewardship into practice by recognizing that hospitality, prayer, formation and service are at work in the life of our parish activities. It works and continues to work for us, whether people notice it or not. Perhaps we have become so used to it that we don’t think about it as much anymore — that would be a mistake. Thinking about stewardship, talking about stewardship, and evangelizing stewardship should continue to be the mission of St. Leo’s long into the future.

Nearly 30 years ago, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops envisioned within their groundbreaking document, Stewardship: A Disciple’s Response, a guide to inform, encourage and invite the reader to a conversion of heart and become the “disciple” Christ called us to be. They knew stewardship would facilitate everyone’s call to discipleship boldly proclaiming, “Once one chooses to be a disciple of Jesus Christ, stewardship is not an option.” It still is a relevant and timely publication that can inspire even the most hardened skeptic. One just has to give it a chance. Some are ready for the change of heart that stewardship fosters, while others are resistant, but that belongs to their story. What about ours?

I am encouraged to see the growing number of people in our St. Leo’s community who recognize the importance of their spiritual life and who take the steps needed to get involved in parish life. I am excited to see stewardship in action with parishioners who are willing to live out their call to discipleship within the parish family to which they belong. The stories of stewardship you read in this newsletter vary a bit — some being very dramatic and others being simple. However, all of them are important and should be shared as often as the occasion calls for a good story. Most of the time, that good story will be a stewardship story. The future of stewardship at St. Leo’s will depend on telling those stories of our past, and the new ones waiting to be written and shared.

Discovering the stewardship way of life has helped me to do not only what I was assigned to do as a pastor, but it has also helped me understand more fully what I was called to do in my vocation as a priest and a Catholic Christian. It is my sincere hope and prayer that each of you can make the same claim as members of this parish family, in their vocations of marriage or the single life, and as a disciple of Jesus Christ, and being a Catholic Christian.

My hopes and prayers are well-founded because I believe with all my heart, the future stewardship story of our parish depends upon it.

Sincerely yours in Christ,

Rev. Donald A. Buhrman, Pastor

Rev. Donald A. Buhrman, Pastor