STEWARDSHIP - A WAY OF LIFE

Judy:
The word "Stewardship" has become a household word for us the past 9 months - that is because we have had the privilege and honor to serve on the Stewardship Commission for our parish. Because of that Darryl and I feel we would like to share our story of why we stand before you today.

We are the "Zaccarias", Darryl and Judy - a familiar family name around St. John Vianney. I am almost a charter member of our parish, and Darryl became a Catholic when our second son Darren was baptized in 1980.... We have 3 wonderful adult children - Jason, Darren and Desiree, a beautiful daughter-in-law Leah, who is married to Jason and they have one child, our granddaughter Alexis, who is the light of our lives. Our children have received the necessary sacraments offered through this parish. We recently celebrated our 40th Wedding Anniversary. Those years have gone by so quickly and God has blessed us in many ways. We have experienced a lot of love, happiness and joy when the roads were smooth. But like any road there are bumps and turns. We have our share, and this is part of our story.

Darryl:
As Judy said, I have been a member of the Catholic Church since 1980 and have steadily increased my participation in our parish. A great deal of that stems from the two major surgeries I had in 1995 for life-threatening aneurysms that occurred on a Sunday afternoon. I thought I had a bad headache that was brought on from working in our yard. Judy had the insight to pursue it and before I knew it I was in the hospital. Since I don't remember much about the days that follow, Judy does so she will tell you.

Judy:
Our entire life turned upside down on that April day in 1995. We went from a typical Sunday to a life filled with uncertainty. I was faced with losing Darryl, whom I had been married to for 31 years; our children were faced with not having a father at the young ages of 13, 15 and 22. The surgeon who operated on Darryl said there was a good chance he would not survive the surgery to repair the aneurysm that was bleeding in his brain. If he did survive, there was a good chance he would not be a whole person. Before the surgery they gave us time to get all our finances in order. We prepared a funeral, with Darryl’s favorite songs and where he would be buried. In case Darryl survived but not completely healed, I needed to learn all about our finances.

Darryl was our bill-payer so I had to learn where we made our house payment as well as other obligations we had, where and what was in our safety deposit box, how much life insurance he had, and on and on. Life looked pretty bleak for us, but the strange thing as I look back on those days is that I never once panicked - You know the story of "Footprints in the Sand"...well, it was at that time that our Lord carried all of us. I was asked once if I was mad at God for what had happened. That never entered my mind. I do remember asking God to please help me and whatever was His will, I would follow.

With the grace of God, the hands and skills of a wonderful surgeon, the prayers and support of family, friends and our parish family, Darryl pulled through the surgeries with remarkable recovery. Why do we feel it is important to share this with each of you? Because we know that God gave us the gift of Darryl’s life and we feel because of that, and all our blessings we will do what we can to be good stewards in return.

Darryl:
Judy and I were asked to share our thoughts about Stewardship and what it means to us. When Father Kevin asked us to participate in the retreats at the beginning of this process I thought "oh no, I have other things to do". Well, now my thoughts have changed. The retreats have taught me a great deal about myself and our community. I owe a lot to God and to this parish. I thank all of you for that.

Stewardship is a three-part process:
Our "Time" - We give freely and willingly whenever we can to answer the call of "yes". For instance being part of the Stewardship Commission is a 3-year time commitment.
Our "Talent" - We help wherever we can with things that appeal to us. Judy and I have been active in the parish in many ways.... Eucharistic Ministers, Hospitality, Table Minister, Facilitator, RCIA Sponsors, Parish Council, working to send our trekkers to Mexico, the Annual Auction and for me, the Knights of Columbus.
Our Treasure - We set aside a portion each payday to give back to God for all that we have. That check comes out first even when we have missed being in church. We also support some charities that are special to us.

Is it easy being "good" stewards? No, not at all. It takes extra work and discipline trying to fulfill the 3 parts of Stewardship. Is it easy being good stewards at this time in the Catholic Church? No, but our faith is so much stronger and deeper than the controversy that surrounds the Church at this time. Stewardship is an on-going process that we are willing to commit to. It is giving back to God for all that he has given us.

We are about to embark on a faith journey as a community of believers. I am very excited about our parish's vision and I encourage all of you to join Judy and me on this journey.

Judy:
Today's Gospel talks about ten lepers that Jesus met on his journey to Jerusalem. Jesus healed them, yet only one of the ten returned to thank Jesus. He replied "Ten were cleansed, were they not? Where are the other nine?" Then he said to the one that thanked him, "Stand up and go; your faith has saved you."

Darryl:
Our prayer for you is that you will listen to Jesus' message and thank him for all your blessings by becoming even better stewards than you are today. Then on that glorious day when you meet Jesus, He can say to you, "Stand up and go; your faith has saved you."