Stewardship Success

• St. Mary on the Hill, Augusta, GA - A model stewardship parish
• St. Helen, Vero Beach, FL - Committed to long-term education
• St. Michael, Fort Worth, TX - Success over multiple years
• St. Andrew, Philadelphia - Transition to a tuition free school
• St. Martha, Houston, TX - 1-year $500,000 offertory increase

St. Mary on the Hill, Augusta, GA - A model stewardship parish

St. Mary on the Hill has emphasized stewardship for over 20 years and has had a tuition-free elementary school for 13 years.  It is the home parish for many of the staff at Catholic Stewardship Consultants. Company president Donald R. McArdle is a deacon at the parish.

The parish has had Perpetual Adoration since 1997 and also has a fully staffed Senior Center. In recent years they completed a $6 million building project without a capital campaign.

Under the leadership of former pastor Fr. Jim Costigan, the parish held annual stewardship renewals—one for time & talent, and a separate renewal for treasure. They held ministry fairs and also emphasized giving based on a percentage of income. After so many years of emphasizing stewardship, there was some sense that the parish had plateaued.

In 2004 Catholic Stewardship Consultants managed the parish's Stewardship Renewal, which combined time, talent and treasure for the first time. The result was tremendous improvement in every category. Especially notable were 1,600 new sign-ups for parish ministries—an average of 5.2 ministries per family. And even though the parish had emphasized stewardship for years, there was a $900,000 increase in the amount pledged to the offertory.

St. Mary on the Hill is a mature stewardship parish, but its recent history suggests that every parish has room to grow. God is always calling us to new heights!

www.stmaryonthehill.org
 

St. Michael, Bedford, TX - Success over multiple years

St. Michael is a large suburban parish of 4,000 households in Fort Worth, TX. Historically the parish was not very active and did not emphasize stewardship. In 2002, Catholic Stewardship Consultants began helping the parish to establish a stewardship spirituality. Among many other initiatives, CSC helped the parish to begin a parish newsletter and hold their first Stewardship Renewal.

In their third Stewardship Renewal, in 2005, the results nearly doubled over the previous year. The parish received over 900 Commitment Cards. Parishioners made 2,461 prayer commitments and 1,908 commitments to parish ministries—almost 800 of which were new sign-ups. Commitments to the offertory increased by over $400,000. Overall, the parish now understands the spirituality of stewardship and is committed to the process of annual renewal. Their most recent Renewal again exceeded the previous years' results.

One of the keys to St. Michael's success is an active Stewardship Committee, which has matured over time and now holds an annual Volunteer Appreciation Dinner and other events which promote the stewardship way of life.

www.smcchurch.org
 

St. Helen, Vero Beach, FL - Committed to long-term education

St. Helen is located in Vero Beach, Florida. The parish has a large number of seasonal residents, and in wintertime, it reaches nearly 3,500 households. Catholic Stewardship Consultants has worked with St. Helen for over five years. In this time, parishioners have received nearly 70 eight-page newsletters and have completed thousands of commitment cards. There is a nearly universal understanding of stewardship within the parish.

In its first fifteen months of emphasizing stewardship, St. Helen's offertory grew by 30%. While Church scandals and the economic downturn of 2002 impacted their finances, as it did in nearly every parish, subsequent Renewals have recaptured momentum.

In 2005 the parish incorporated The Year of the Eucharist as part of their annual Stewardship Renewal, making a strong appeal to increase prayer and Eucharistic devotion. Hundreds of parishioners committed to visiting the Blessed Sacrament, reading scripture, and having daily prayer times.

St Helen is a good example of how consistent stewardship education produces long-term results. They will be conducting their seventh Stewardship Renewal this fall, and plan to have over 2,000 ministry commitments and offertory pledges of nearly $1 million.

Recommendation Letter from Pastor, Fr. Michael Edwards

indian-river.fl.us/church/catholic/sthelen.html
 

St. Andrew, Drexel Hill, PA - Transition to a tuition free school

St. Andrew is a very stable parish of 2,000 households located in an urban Philadelphia neighborhood. In its 90-year history they have had only five pastors. They have over 60 ministries and had emphasized stewardship for several years, with good results, before Catholic Stewardship Consultants began working with them.

The parish elementary school, which is over 75 years old, had experienced steady decline in enrollment and was facing the possibility of closure. About one year after their first Stewardship Renewal with Catholic Stewardship Consultants, the parish decided that instead of cutting teacher's salaries and raising tuition, they would do the opposite: raise salaries and make tuition free for active families. The results have been remarkable. School enrollment has risen, and in its second year, the budget for both church and school was above projections.

The leadership at St. Andrew strongly believes that stewardship is a way of life. The pastor and parish leadership are committed to spreading the spirituality of stewardship, encouraging each parishioner to use his or her gifts for the good of the Church and all those around them.

Recommendation Letter from Stewardship Committee Chair, Steve Litz

IRS ruling on the validity of a non-profit organization running a tuition-free school
 

St. Martha, Kingwood, TX - 1-year $500,000 offertory increase

St. Martha is a large suburban parish outside of Houston. Three years ago, the new pastor was searching for an "organizing principle" in the parish. He found stewardship to be a Gospel-based concept that would serve to provide a spiritual foundation for his pastorate and parish life in general.

While the pastor did not want to place undue emphasis on the financial aspect of stewardship, nonetheless the parish offertory rose by $500,000 during the first year that Catholic Stewardship Consultants worked with them. Parish ministries have also thrived, with nearly 3,500 ministry commitments in the second year. The offertory continues to rise at a similar rate as the first year

The parish has grown to the point of needing to expand their facilities at another location. Parishioners' strong foundation in stewardship sets the stage for a successful campaign to build their new campus.

Recommendation Letter from pastor Msgr. Chester Borski

www.stmartha.com