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"A Practical Financial Survival Guide for Catholic Churches, School, Local Communities
and Institutions."--Richard P. Garrigan
FORWARD--The Stewardship Myth
A renowned Catholic priest, leader, author and clergyman was invited to
address a group of priests and church leaders at a conference on Church management and finances. He started the discussion by asking them, "What is the single biggest issue facing the Catholic Church in America?"
Hands went up immediately.
"The clergy abuse scandal."
"Humane vitae encyclical."
"Ordination of women."
"Abortion."
"Vocations and the declining numbers of clergy and religious."
He acknowledged the seriousness of all the stated issues but then shook his head, paused for a moment and announced--
"Money."
"The #1 issue facing the Catholic Church today is money! Money, finances and financial management are the biggest challenges and threats to the Catholic faith."
Many in that conference room were very disappointed to hear that declaration by the late Msgr. Joseph Champlin (1930--2008). A prolific author on a wide array of Church topics ranging from prayer and meditation to marriage preparation and--yes--Church finances.
"Without money, we can't evangelize. We can't pay staff just and equitable salaries, provide early childhood, Catholic school education, build churches and facilities, serve the poor, fund vocations and retirement and so one. No money, no ministry and alternately--no ministry, no money."
The room went silent. They were thunderstruck that such a spiritual, reflective, prolific theologian would posit that money was the issue--even though--they were attending a three day conference named the Pastors National Development Congress.
Many of his biggest fans with significant readership and devotion to his many books, reflections and instructive guidance were depressed and disappointed.
How could this godly, holy, soft spoken man of God speak so boldly about money and ministry in the same breath?
How disappointing!
Going through their minds were all the fears, justifications and rejection of such a thought.
"Near blasphemy."
"Jesus never talked about money."
"I wasn't ordained to be a fundraiser."
"We're a stewardship parish." Translation--we announce we're a stewardship parish and our collections will be grow and we won't have to talk about money.
"That's the job of people on the Finance Council. Why don't they understand that?"
"Preaching about money is wrong and takes away from prescribed homilies."
Sadly, the stewardship movement in our Church has been hijacked. Albeit a noble and profoundly spiritual concept and despite what stewardship proponents may say, stewardship has been relegated to a narrow, simplistic strategy to enhance the ancient and outdated parish Sunday collection system.
Though well intended, the unintended consequences have been severe.
Our hard working and dedicated priests have been sold a bill of goods that goes right to the heart of an insecurity--not wanting to be accused of being a "money priest."
They have been told that if they preach and "implement" stewardship, parishioners will have their Road to Damascus........ be converted and ....... give more ....... Sunday Collections will rise! ............we won't have to ask for money ........ and conduct this unholy fundraising business. We'll all live happily ever after.
Additionally, the Stewardship Sunday Collection "strategy" traps many of our dedicated, hard working priests and pastors into personalizing those results. It is only human nature to view the numbers and financials as an approval or opinion poll.
And a wise man once said, "Complex problems have simple solutions. Simple solutions are always wrong."
Somehow, someway and somewhere along the way, the beautiful concept and theology Stewardship was hijacked, wrapped in a flawed theology in an attempt to redefine the Sunday Collection in a "one size fits all" mentality.
Stewardship: A Disciple’s Response
This excerpt is taken from the Introduction to Stewardship: A Disciple’s Response, United States Catholic Conference of Bishops, 1992.
“Three convictions in particular underlie what we say in this pastoral letter.- Mature disciples make a conscious, firm decision, carried out in action, to be followers of Jesus Christ no matter the cost to themselves.
- Beginning in conversion, change of mind and heart, this commitment is expressed not in a single action, nor even in a number of actions over a period of time, but in an entire way of life. It means committing one’s very self to the Lord.
- Stewardship is an expression of discipleship, with the power to change how we understand and live out our lives. Disciples who practice stewardship recognize God as the origin of life, the giver of freedom, the source of all they have and are and will be. They are deeply aware of the truth that “the Lord’s are the earth and its fullness; the world and those who dwell in it” (Ps 24:1). They know themselves to be recipients and caretakers of God’s many gifts. They are grateful for what they have received and eager to cultivate their gifts out of love for God and one another.”
Nowhere in the pastoral letter on stewardship is there any mention regarding Sunday or Weekend Collections, collection baskets, collection plates or even electronic giving. Stewardship is a lifestyle (we will define Stewardship in greater detail) not a management or collection system.
The Sunday Collections is but one and only one "form" or "expression" of stewardship that exist alongside many other expressions of financial stewardship. In 30 years of serving the Catholic Church, we have never discovered any new commandment that defines Stewardship as the sole form of financial giving to the Church.
National groups and conventions have been complicit in foisting the stewardship myth on impressionable parishes. Speaker after speaker, year upon year make presentations on the success of their stewardship programs announcing that we are a "Stewardship Parish" with all the phrase implies: we don't ask for money, Road to Damascus, etc.
The stewardship myth also plays into the insecurity of many pastors. Mostly unspoken, many pastors internalize the weekly stewardship collection numbers as their approval, an informal opinion poll or a rating on the quality of their homilies and priestly service.
The Stewardship Myth has also been enabled by national Church organizations claiming to be the authorities on Church finances and stewardship.
Annual conventions, workshops and seminars schedule speakers who tout their parish success stories about stewardship. These conventions are largely organized by dioceses which have a vested interest in 1) local parish financial stewardship, Sunday Collections and the "plate" which are subject to a diocesan tax or "cathedraticum." 2) Special Gifts, Major Gifts, Wills/Bequests and Capital Campaign gifts may or may not be subject to the cathedraticum depending on a diocese's policy and are discouraged. 3) The Stewardship Myth also inhibits major gift programs and campaigns in local parishes, schools, institutions and agencies which many diocese's consider to be in "competition" with the diocese.
Impressionable attendees return from these national stewardship meetings taking simplistic--to good to be true--concepts back home to their respective parishes and implement them--whole cloth--without analysis, demographic and statistical research and parish profiling, often times with disastrous results.
The hidden implication for parishioners is a promise of not asking again. When that "promise" is broken--and it will be--some parishioners will use it as a club or defense mechanism that will delay or deter future initiatives. It injures maintaining trusting relationships.
Foolish Stewardship Proclamations
"We announced to our parishioners (told our parishioners) we are now a Stewardship Parish." Wrong.
"If we become a Stewardship Parish, we won't have to ask for money anymore. Wouldn't that be nice?" Naive.
"We are a Four Pillars Parish." Soon to crumble.
"No more second collections." A promise made ... to be broken.
Where does Stewardship Work?
Our 25 years of experience working exclusively with Catholic parishes, dioceses, schools, religious communities, seminaries and institutes give us a keen observation point for successful institutions--why some succeed and some fail. It is all about Leadership--which we'll address further on.
Where Stewardship "works." The Stewardship Sunday Collection Treasure Model works financially in parishes that fit one or more of the following profiles--- Parish--no school.
- New suburban parishes--no parish school.
- New suburban parishes--some with a parish school.
- Parishes with 1,000 households or more.
- White color family profile.
- Median household income above $75,000.
Where Stewardship does not work: everywhere else.
Stewardship has been misused as a flawed strategy and not as intended--which is a relationship with God and a Christian lifestyle.
If Stewardship had been a successful "strategy," we would not be lamenting these statistics:
TOTAL NUMBER OF CATHOLIC PRIESTS (Diocesan and Order)
1995--49,054
2021--34,923
TOTAL NUMBER OF PARISHES
1995---19,331
2021--16,579
TOTAL NUMBER OF ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS
1995--6,964
2021--4,853
TOTAL NUMBER OF CATHOLIC SCHOOLS IN OPERATION
1995--8,351
2022--5,938
Stewardship was not conceived to be a strategy. Stewardship has been misinterpreted, and by default, deployed as a strategy. Thus, the many failures with few exceptions (see profiles).
Balanced budgets do not evidence of success.................
.................
ENOUGH ALREADY ....NOW:
"Time to stop fixin' blame and start to gettin' things fixed."
That is what the rest of this book is all about. RPG