Stewardship

Dear Friends in Christ,

As part of our goal to become a stewardship parish, we are introducing a new envelope system. We encourage all to use envelopes as a sign of your commitment to St. John the Baptist Church. The new envelopes will come in color and will bring you a spiritual message each week, a reminder that our Catholic faith is not for us alone but is to be shared. We have heard the Word of the Lord; the gifts we have received from God are given so that we can spread the Word.

In today’s gospel, our patron St. John the Baptist is looking for the Messiah and asks Jesus if He is the One. We can see that even someone as holy as John still needed clarification regarding the Messiah. In our world, which is so consumed by material concerns, how can the gospel message get through? Jesus relies on us to continue His mission of saving souls. As you read the messages on the new envelope series I hope you will be inspired to get more involved in our church. We have opportunities open for the ministry of ushers, greeters, choir members, lectors, ministry to the bereaved, catechesis, youth, and many more.

Your financial gifts are important to us as we seek to expand our facilities to provide space for our students and parish groups. If you do not currently use envelopes I invite you to start by filling out a parish registration card (found in the vestibule). They are also very helpful in keeping track of your donation. Your envelope number is used in recording your weekly donations so that you can receive an acknowledgement letter at tax time. Another sure way to keep a record of your donations is through ParishPay, our electronic giving service. With ParishPay you will receive the same acknowledgement at tax time as when you use envelopes. To learn more about ParishPay just go to our website home page at www.sjboc.org.

As stewards, our responsibility is to carry out our daily tasks, using our time, talent, and treasure for God’s service and that of his Church. Even though we don’t know when the Second Coming of Jesus will be, we know that Psalm 146 is right: “The Lord shall reign forever.”

God bless you and your family,

Fr. Hildebrand