After A Year Of Uncertainty, St. Peter Parish Continues Embracing The Stewardship Way Of Life

Following a year marked by an unprecedented global pandemic that changed the way all Americans live, work, and worship, many organizations are understandably struggling to stay the course. Here at St. Peter Catholic Church, however, our fall Stewardship Renewal confirmed that, amid a topsy-turvy year, one thing remained the same — the strong faith and active discipleship of our parish family. Indeed, the hundreds of commitments our parishioners made to share their time, talent, and treasure with the Lord at the end of 2020 have been truly inspiring!

Our Stewardship Council is pleased to report the return rate for stewardship commitment cards in fall 2020 slightly increased over our 2019 rate, proving that the desire to live as disciples of Christ is alive and well in our parish. The generosity of our parishioners in these uncertain times is truly humbling — the annual tithe pledge amount is up by almost 10 percent this year. While we are grateful for the continued financial support of the church, the commitments to the Four Pillars of Parish Stewardship — Hospitality, Prayer, Formation, and Service — are just as valuable.

“We have really been focused on prayer and service,” says Stewardship Council Chair John Kuchta. “Prayer commitments are way up compared to last year and up 30 percent from where we started a few years ago. I can’t tell you how many people who are new come up to me and say that this is the most prayerful parish they’ve experienced. And it all starts with Fr. Clark — his impact has been greatly felt.”

Katherine Norman, our new Stewardship, Volunteer, and Evangelization Programs Coordinator, agrees that our strong devotion to prayer is an essential aspect of discipleship, however, she also recognizes hospitality is the first pillar of stewardship for a reason.

“When parishioners know they are welcomed, this fosters a sense of ownership and personal involvement,” she says. “Our goal is to make all parishioners and guests feel they belong and are appreciated. As my predecessor, Sue Ray, would always say ‘belonging leads to believing’.”

Katherine took on the role of Stewardship, Volunteer, and Evangelization Programs Coordinator in August 2020. Before this position, she had been working as a financial advisor and before that taught high school math for 11 years. In the fall of 2019, she attended a stewardship retreat led by Fr. Jim Golka of St. Mary Cathedral in Grand Island, Neb. Taking to heart Fr. Jim’s message that our lives are not our own, but instead belong to God, Katherine began asking herself what the Lord might be calling her to do. Today, she refers to that retreat experience as a “conversion of heart” that led her to this new role in our parish.

As the Stewardship, Volunteer, and Evangelization Programs Coordinator, Katherine hopes to journey with our parishioners as they grow in discipleship.

“When people experience a conversion, their hearts are changed and they become grateful for the many gifts our Lord has given them, and naturally then they want to find ways to give back.” She says “My goal is to provide opportunities for conversions and then help people through the process from conversion to giving. God is calling us to be good stewards and I am here to help people find ways to answer that call.”

Encouraged by the inspiring response to our fall Stewardship Renewal, Katherine looks to the future of stewardship in our parish with great enthusiasm for the continued growth and blessings to come.

“Once people realize that everything is a gift from God, they want to take ownership,” she says. “They know that this is their parish and want to take care of it. We have a lot of wonderful parishioners who do so much for our church, however, we want everyone to get involved. One of my goals is to have every parishioner be involved in at least one ministry and serve in some capacity in our parish. It’s never too late to turn in your commitment card and get involved — our ministry leaders will reach out to anybody who fills out a card and makes a commitment!”