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St. Francis of Assisi Grateful Believers Introduction Lord, what do you want to do through me to accomplish your will for your Church? At the heart of the Church's teaching is a profound belief that life is a gift and we are stewards of God's gifts Stewardship is about who we are. It is about all of life. It is a theme that runs throughout the Holy Scriptures. The Psalmist declares it clearly, "The earth is the Lord's and all it holds, the world and all who live there." (Psalm 24:1) You and I are trustees (stewards), not the owners of creation. The life of faith sees all things from the perspective of stewardship. As our parish community has participated in the Grateful Believers journey, we have asked ourselves as a parish and individually how we can best use our time, talent, and treasure as grateful stewards of God's love. We were fortunate to have our fellow parishioners share their experiences with us during Mass. Their lay witness talks are included here to help in our individual reflection. May God richly bless you in all that you do.
Marti TeterA Few Words of Gratitude Good Evening. When I was asked if I would be willing to share with you what I am grateful for, and why I work with the Ministry to the Sick and the Homebound, I did not and could not say anything but yes. The reason is that this invitation gives me the opportunity to thank all of you for the last three years of my life. Four years ago I was not a member of this community. In fact I was not a member of any community. The struggles of balancing work and family, and caring for sick parents, had depleted my energy to the point that I convinced myself that all you really needed in life, was to be a good person, and that getting over to church was not really necessary if you lived a good life. And so for many years I trudged along thinking I had everything I needed just in loving God on my own. The problem was that the longer I trudged the more distant I became. As I look back on those years, I now realize, how mistaken I was, and how much like, the young clown fish, Nemo I had become. I was off on my own, searching the world, testing new waters, and certain, that my life was unfolding as it should. In fact, the truth was that I was as lost as Nemo, in a fishbowl, in Australia. Then fours years ago something wonderful happened. God stopped by one night and asked, 'Where have you been? What are you doing? When are you coming home'? And the beauty to me was that he didn't send Marlin, and he didn't send Dory. He came Himself. The answers to God's questions came to me slowly over the next year. Finally, one cold Sunday morning in February, I was lead to the back pew at St Francis of Assisi. As I sat with all of you and listened to Father Tom teaching and offering Mass, I sensed the love of this community and I came to know that this was my intended destination. God didn't say to me, 'I want you to go out and select a Catholic Church.' He told me 'Pick this church. This is the one. Pick it now, today' and His directive was unmistakable. This is how I came to join your family. And since I have joined you, I have been blessed with grace upon grace. The love of this community and my introduction to centering prayer, which I learned about here, brings me into a different relationship with God. It is a relationship that I never knew existed. And what a wonder that is, and a blessing. In addition, since being here, I have met saintly people, who are led by faith and who live their lives in simple yet extraordinary ways. I have found the seeds of my faith planted by you, and blossoming all over. I have learned the true meaning of charity and forgiveness and hope. There will never be enough opportunities for me to say thank you for the gifts that have been given here, and there will never be enough opportunities for me to give back to this community. And so tonight I would like to say: Thank you God for coming for me and thank you for bringing me here!! B. DryerGood Morning Notice I did not mention talent, I said Opportunity. It is important as a Grateful Believer to share your talents, but do not limit yourself to only to what you consider are your talents. Because the greatest gifts you will receive from God is when you listen to what God wants you to do. Weather you think you can do it or not.My getting involved with Children's Liturgy of the Word wasn't so much from me seeking it out. I thought about it, but really did not pursue it. I felt a calling, but said to myself. I don't know if I can do that. Doesn't it seem many times when God calls you to do something, It's way out here, Out of our comfort zone. On to those crashing waves. So I never acted on God's calling until Mr. Gruden invited me to observe Children's Liturgy of the Word. Well I went and observed, signed up as a presider and then became Coordinator of our Children's Liturgy of the Word. Was I qualified? No! Am I qualified yet? No! St. Paul in one his letters to the Corinthians said I came to you in weakness and fear, and with much trembling. My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit's power. When God calls you, put your faith in God and let God perform. So how do I show my gratitude for the things I've been given I want to share a verse with you Mark ends each of his verses with what I like to consider I want to sign Your name to the end of this day Can you sign Jesus name to the end of your day? Good morning What do I do?? Basically, I respond to a need. With the construction of our new church, we installed a sophisticated sound system. It was evident that somebody was needed to take care of it. I know electronics, having taught it for many years and having used electronics in my work. So I volunteered myself to Deacon Mark, our Business Manager, and he said OK. So now you know who to fuss at if the sound isn't good. Another example of how I get myself involved. The administrative offices needed the computers upgraded and protected from viruses and the like. Also, they needed a DSL service installed and the parish needed a new domain name and new email service. So I enlisted my son and some of his coworkers at Lexis Nexis to spend a Community Day that L-N provides with pay to help do those tasks. Since then, I have been the caretaker of the computers, email and the DSL setup, as well as starting the upgrade of the website. OK! I have done a few other things...like digging holes for volley ball poles many years ago, helping with the parish picnics we used to have, cleaning up after church functions and the like. So...why do I do these things??? Good question. Sometimes I wonder myself why I do them. I have a den at home that is a real mess. So I guess one might say that I should use my extra time to clean it up. One of these days, I'll do it-----after we get some new computers in the offices!!! Cleaning my den isn't a big problem...it just takes time. But when a computer acts up or the sound system doesn't work right...these are real problems and I like to solve problems. I also like to plant and grow things, I like to build things, I like to plan programs and the like...but there are others who can do these things, so I chose things where I could see needs that match my knowledge and abilities...that is, my talents. God gave each of us a variety of abilities and we all know how to do things. All I'm doing is giving some of this back to God's Church Being involved like this has been, at times, very enjoyable. Especially, when getting Fr Tom's Palm (PDA) and his computer working together...then all that was left was getting Fr Tom working together with his Palm and computer...no small task!!!! I had to think about what drives me to make myself available to the parish. I begun to realize this drive flows from being a convert to the Catholic Faith. My youth through college was almost devoid of religious practice, although my mother had me say a prayer before going to bed when I was young...you know the one...now I lay me down to sleep...etc. We did not belong to a church. Looking back, I realize that I had a yearning to be part of a faith community, which I had never experienced. This is what I found at St Francis. So it is only natural that when you are part of a community, especially a faith community, that you want to help that community in any way you can...this is the most meaningful and satisfying way to show your gratitude...to thank God for all that He has given you. Thank you ACCOUNTABILITY STEWARDSHIP As I've gone through life, I've found that the more I gave of the gifts I have been given, the more I received in return. God has blessed me with innumerable gifts. Do I use them all? Have I always been accountable to develop & share these gifts that I have been given? Unfortunately, the answer is no. I have, however, cherished my life as a gift from God. For many years I thought that if I went to church every Sunday, loved God, my family & friends & lived a Christian life that was enough. The ability to love & care for God & others has probably been my greatest gift from God. Loving my past husband & children brought me immense Joy & love in return. When I lost my husband six years ago my world collapsed. It was at that point I put my complete trust in God. I found that when you do this you receive numerous WOW moments. Knowing & having great respect for Father Tom, I joined St Francis & was welcomed with open arms by this wonderful parish. I decided to join the Church Dedication Committee. I had never experienced a dedication but I knew I could help wherever needed. After all I was at least trainable! That experience was incredible. WOW! The knowledge I gained & the friends I made would not have been possible in any other venue. I then started attending daily mass, not every day, but as much as possible. This gave me much solace & grounding. Next I joined Centering Prayer, another new experience. So much of our daily lives are run by & governed by our head. Being in peace with God, one on one is amazing. Now I am allowing God to transform my heart. WOW! I became a Eucharistic Minister & a Lector @ 5:00 pm mass. I had never done either of these services. I wanted to give back for the many gifts I had been given & this seemed an appropriate way that I could contribute. A couple of years ago St Francis decided to have a reverse raffle & auction. Again, I joined the committee. Is it a gift to be a habitual joiner? I was the auctioneer for the evening. Now there's a gift...a big mouth. The event was a great success & a tremendous endeavor by many parishioners. WOW! In the winter of 2005 a gentleman I had known for over 30yrs asked me to a UD basketball game. He was a good man & someone that thought I would enjoy spending time with. He asked what I would be doing the next day. I told him that I didn't have a morning appointment & was going to 8:30 mass. His response was: I'll pick you up & go with you. WOW! We were appropriately married @ 8:30 mass the day after last Thanksgiving. A love I thought I would never experience again came back to me ten fold. WOW! One thing I had always wanted to do was attend a Women's retreat. Fortunately, that came to fruition this year. It was truly a heart opening experience. WOW! At one point we each shared a small glass heart with another woman. I carry that heart with me & pray for my counterpart often. On our dormitory doors was: Jesus loves me & he loves you too. You can't understand it all, just believe it's true & he'll take away your old heart & give you one that's new. You'll feel the walls come down as his love comes shining through! I invite you to: Betty DavisI want to share with you how God called me into ministry. In 1975 I attended a seminar at St. Leonard's.The speaker talked about how we make little gods in our life. As I sat there smoking, I said to myself, "No, I don't do that." And then she mentioned smoking! Everything within me screamed...NO! I like my cigarettes! The more she talked, I knew I had to put the cigarette out for the last time. As I did, a lady behind me said "God has something else He wants you to do with your hands." I didn't tell my husband I quit, but 2 weeks later, he came home from church and said, "I signed you up to be a Eucharistic Minister." Those same fingers I used to hold a cigarette now was going to hold the Body of Christ! Great sacrifice! Greatly rewarded! Two years later, I read a story about a woman who wanted to serve her church, but physically wasn't able. So, she prayed. She was then inspired to start a Telephone Prayer Chain and her action contributed a much needed ministry in her church. That story intrigued me, BUT we just had our fourth child and I was so busy, I barely had enough time to brush my teeth. Getting involved up here was out of the question. But in the midst of all the holy chaos of taking care of 4 little children, God whispered to me and said, "You can do that"! Reluctantly, I said "yes, I can." So, I asked other people if they wanted to do this with me, and before I knew it, a Telephone Prayer Chain was put into place. I want to say 'thank you' to all the members that serve this ministry, for being so faithful and willing to pray for the needs of others. Several years ago I became aware that there was something missing from my spiritual life. This yearning or desire went on for about a year. Then I met a woman here named Paula Trimbach. She had been experiencing the same thing! We wondered if there were other women who felt this way. We decided there must be, so we booked a Retreat Center, passed out flyers, and 38 women responded. That was the birth of the Annual St. Francis Women's Retreat! It was on the 3rd retreat that a woman challenged me to accept that I was being called to a ministry that served women! It took some time for me to accept that. But, I kept getting ideas for new retreats, and was recognizing that, beyond the spiritual need, some women needed affirmation, some needed to be loved and accepted, some needed a safe place to share their feelings, and some needed compassion. This was going to be a big task! Other women came forward and offered their time, talents, financial support, guidance, and best of all, their commitment to continue this ministry.
God provided all that I needed. I just had to say YES! I am extremely humbled and thankful for the women that serve so generously on this team. They love this ministry as much as I do. February will be out 14th year. And ladies, listen up. The theme is 'Seeking a Mary Heart in a Martha World' & our director is Fr. Joe. Rigalli. After Mass, please take the time to visit all the ministries that serve us in this community. They represent God's blessings to us. Be sure to 'Thank' the members who give so much of their time.
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