Use parish community-building activities to stimulate stewardship
Photo from Photos.comA basic axiom of fundraisers is that people give to people. While a parish might be able to rally its members around a particular need (“the boiler in the church broke down, and we need to replace it”), sustained, long-term giving requires a sense of community. This is true for gifts of time and talent as well as treasure. A parish that isn’t working at building community is wasting its time if it tries to implement stewardship.
On the other hand, Catholic parishes are large. Building community in a setting of 3,000 or more individuals (a typically sized parish) is difficult, but it must be done. We need to explore every opportunity to build community.
RENEW and other small faith-sharing group programs are helpful ways to build community. So are parish projects, like building a home for Habitat for Humanity or adopting a sister parish. Purely social events, like progressive dinners, parish-sponsored athletic leagues (for parishioners of all ages), or parish-initiated theatrical performances are helpful. Parish festivals are especially good at bringing together parishioners from all segments of the parish who otherwise wouldn’t get a chance to know each other.
A parish that is serious about stewardship needs to take advantage of every community-building activity that fits its particular situation. TP
*This article is excerpted from Today’s Parish magazine (September 2004).
Charles Zech is a professor of economics at Villanova University and the editor of The Parish Management Handbook (Twenty-Third Publications).
