Stewardship Update
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August 2007
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| It is not enough to be busy; so are the ants. The question is: what are we busy about? - Henry David Thoreau /td> | ||
| Mom in the kitchen baking bread..... Dad outside on the driveway waxing the new car...... Brother and Sister are helping their parents joyfully..... Are we watching a rerun on TV Land or maybe just dreaming of the perfect American lifestyle? Those of us who have made bread from scratch, either for pleasure or out of necessity, know the amount of time and effort it takes. We spend time mixing the flour and liquids to form gluten to hold the bread together, then let the dough rise on its own. Later we return to beat it down and knead it to help with the dough’s elasticity, only to let it rest and rise again. Finally, we place it in the oven to let the heat harden and complete the process. Some of us have spent a weekend cleaning and detailing one of our prized possessions, our car. Once all the dirt has been meticulously removed from the auto body, we take out a soft cloth and a jar of paste wax and spend the next hour or so applying polish and buffing the body to an exquisite shine. So, what does this have to do with the the idea of formation, the third pillar of the Catholic Steward? We live in fast-paced world. It is so much easier to pick up a loaf of bread at a local grocer and use the automatic car wash when we fill our tanks. Our hunger is sated and our car is adequately cleaned. Missing, however, is the personal satisfaction of a job completed, especially when we do it out of love. We also know the importance of teaching our children the skills that we deem necessary in life. We may know those who spend hours at the gym each week to keep themselves physically healthy. While this is important, isn’t it also important to work on our spiritual health? Most of us attended classes before becoming full members of the Catholic faith at confirmation. We may also have helped our own children throughout their sacramental preparation. However, just as we enjoy the home-cooked feast over a constant diet of fast food, shouldn’t we also look forward to the chance to learn more about our faith than that which is given at Sunday Mass? Taking the time and effort to learn more about God is vital to our spiritual well-being. As we grow in knowledge of our Church, we also gain wisdom as Catholic Stewards. Can we really afford to be too busy to attend Generations of Faith, Bible Study or other opportunities of formation? BACK TO TOP |
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 MILLIE ELONICH
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Millie Elonich grew up in Harper, Iowa where sharing a priest among parish communities was common. She has been in Council Bluffs since 1959 and has been a member of Queen of Apostles the whole time. She has seen Queens grow and go through many changes. She has one daughter who lives in Florida and 3 sons who are living within the Council Bluffs/Omaha metro area. She regularly attends the Saturday night Mass where she knows so many other long time members. When talking about Stewardship with Millie it is easy to see that she is a giving individual. She volunteers in the community as well as the parish. Some of her generous activities include driving a friend, preparing salads for funerals, prayers for others needs with the church prayer line, Altar and Rosary Society, and financial assistance in improvement projects the church may need assistance with. Millie will soon have been a 20 year volunteer at the Micah House. The donation of time is such a wonderful gift of stewardship. Millie enjoys the activities of the parish whether it is the parish dinners, missions or bus trips. Millie would like to dispel any rumors that she is the bus driver on these wild trips, but she is along for the ride. Hospitality is another important component of stewardship and it is easy to see Millie enjoys people and has a genuine interest in others.
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 CATHY NIELSEN AND HUSBAND KEVIN |
Queen of Apostles has been home to Cathy Nielsen since she can remember. She was born in Neola, but moved to Council Bluffs at an early age and grew up as a member of Queens. She and her husband, Kevin, have been married for 27 years. They have three children, Erin(25), Kyle(24), and Jayme(15). Cathy and her children have strengthened their faith and benefited from the educational opportunities of St Albert Catholic School here in Council Bluffs. Cathy demonstrates her stewardship through hospitality and is known for her generous donation of time. She enjoys getting to know the priests and fellow parishioners. She always has a friendly smile and greeting to welcome everyone. She often volunteers for church and St Albert School activities, lending a helping hand wherever she is needed. One of her favorite projects is serving as the silent auction coordinator for the yearly Parish Auction. She and her daughter, Jayme, were frequently the friendly faces behind the scrip table. Jayme is also a Eucharistic Minister. Cathy values the relationships she has built and the feeling of community here at Queen of Apostles Parish. BACK TO TOP |
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Conner Fetter, who will be entering the third grade this fall, enjoyed making posters with his whole family at one of the Generations of Faith meetings, “because it gave all of us time together.” His father, Andrew, appreciated the ability to “learn more about our traditions and why we have them.”
 The Fetters: Bronx, Andrew, Conner, Crystal and Ra J Generations of Faith is our parish Lifelong Faith Formation process. It includes school-age children, their parents, grandparents, retired couples, newlyweds, parents of toddlers, single adults...in short, any member of the parish interested in learning more about their Catholic faith and deepening their relationship with God. It is also the Faith Formation (religious education) program for the children of the parish. Generations of Faith is based on three very important concepts: § Our Catholic faith is learned, nourished and grown primarily in the home - what Pope John Paul II first called “the domestic church.” § Learning about and deepening our faith does not stop with adulthood, Confirmation, or any other milestone. It is a lifelong process, requiring lifelong study and commitment. § The traditional intergenerational family-school-neighborhood structures that used to reinforce our Catholic identities - what we call “Catholic Culture” - have largely disappeared. We need to find new ways to enculturate Catholic Christianity into our lives, make it an important part of our lives, or the number of practicing Catholics will continue to dwindle. It is in response to these three ideas that Generations of Faith was developed. It is a process wherein we strive to help families with children to teach and live the faith with their children, and to help adult participants to go beyond the “catechism” we all learned as children and enrich their faith. We do this in monthly evening sessions, starting at 5:30 PM on the first Wednesday of each month, starting with a meal together. This social aspect of Generations is an important way of building community, and makes the evening fun. After dinner, we pray and then we usually break into groups: two or three groups of families with school-age children and an adults-only group for further study. Babysitting is available for parents of babies or toddlers if they want to participate in the adult learning section. After about an hour, we gather together for some follow-up, reflection, and a closing prayer. Every family or individual who attends receives a “take-home kit” - usually a bag with some reading material for the adults, some family reading or projects for children or teens. The Fetters; Andrew and Crystal, along with their children Conner, 2 year old Bronx, and one month old Ra J, consider Generations of Faith a “good community event outside of Mass every week,” BACK TO TOP |
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Ideas for stewards this month |
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Attend Generations of Faith Encourage children to attend the Children’s Liturgy Volunteer to drive someone to Mass Become an RCIA sponsor Visit someone in a nursing home Donate a basket to the parish auction Send a card to someone not feeling well Introduce yourself to another parishioner Attend Taize Prayer, Sunday September 9th Pray to end abortion Help at the parish auction BACK TO TOP |
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My church is composed of people like me. I help make it what it is. It will be friendly, if I am. Its pews will be filled, if I help fill them. It will do great work, if I work. It will make generous gifts to many causes, if I am a generous giver. It will bring other people into its worship and fellowship, if I invite and bring them. It will be a church of loyalty and love, of fearlessness and faith, and a church with a noble spirit, if I, who make it what it is, am filled with these same things. Therefore, with the help of God, I shall dedicate myself to the task of being all the things that I want my church to be. BACK TO TOP |
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Would you like to Nominate Someone for Steward of the Month? Do you have suggestions for What Should I Do? Your ideas for future issues are welcome. Contact the stewardship committee: Queensstewardship@cox.net BACK TO TOP |
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