Understanding Stewardship

Understanding Stewardship at St. Margaret Mary School Stewardship is a way of life at St. Margaret Mary. It is "what we do after we say we believe" in all aspects of our lives - at home, at work, and at church. Through stewardship, we express our gratitude to God for the many blessings we have been given, by giving back to our families, our community and our parish. While stewardship is our responsibility as Christians, there are wonderful benefits that are bestowed on us as a result of our faithfulness' Being a part of a stewardship community is a wonderful blessing! The "Stewardship School Model" is unique and sometimes confusing. Below are answers to some of the questions you may have about how a stewardship school operates. FAQ about a Stewardship School

1. What is a stewardship school? A stewardship school is supported by the parish. The entire community works together to financially support the parish school, as well as the costs of the church and school/parish staff. As a benefit of being an active member of the parish community, parishioners tithe to the church rather than being charged "tuition" to attend school.
2. What does it mean to be an active member of the parish? An active participating member is one who regularly participates in the liturgical life of the parish: who is committed to stewardship of time, talent and treasure as witnessed by completing the annual Stewardship Commitment Cards: and who lives up to his/her commitment.
3. What are the benefits of belonging to a stewardship school?
   • Being a part of a community that encourages active participation in parish life fosters a close-knit family environment. By giving of your time, talent & treasure, you will become an involved member of the parish and, in doing so, gain lifelong friends and a supportive community.
   • Donations made to the church are tax deductible. If you are a participating stewardship family, you will receive the tax benefits of making your donations to the church rather than paying tuition to the school,
   • A stewardship community supports and cares for its parish family. If you encounter financial hardship, your parish family will support you until you are back on your feet and your children will continue their education at the parish school. Similarly, by doing your share, you will help support others in the parish family during their time of need.
4. What are the challenges of a belonging to a stewardship school? Tithing pledges are not as concrete as tuition payments. If everyone doesn't honorably pay their fair share and honor their commitments, the school and parish are unable to meet the sizeable operational costs associated with the parish & school.
5. How much am I expected to pay? The church does not tell anyone how much they must give. However, St. Margaret Mary asks each family to use the tithing guideline of 5% of your gross income as a minimum donation. As you prayerfully consider your tithing commitment, please remember that it costs our parish approximately $4,750 to educate each child. If you pledge less than this amount, the remainder must be made up by another parishioner in order for the superior quality of education to remain the same at SMM. Remember also, if you give only $4,750 per child, the entire amount of your pledge goes toward the cost of educating one child: pledges less that that do not contribute to the other overhead costs associated with running the church. It takes all of us doing our share to be able to continue as a stewardship parish.
6. Why are parishioners asked to give 5% of their gross income? The 5% guideline is taken from the bible. The Old Testament tithing requirement is 10%. SMM requests that each family give 5% to our parish and 5% to other charities.
7. What happens if 5% of our gross income is less than the cost of educating our child(ren)? If you are an active participating parishioner, your child(ren) are eligible to enjoy the benefits of the parish school. You are considered an active participating parishioner if you regularly participate in the liturgical life of the parish, you are committed to stewardship of time, talent and treasure as witnessed by completing the annual Stewardship Commitment Card, and you live up to your commitments.
8. Does the parish review or monitor my time & talent efforts? How is this information used? Yes, the parish keeps record of each family's participation in parish life. Three times a year, you will receive the parish's record of your time, talent and treasure and will be asked to determine what activities you would like to continue or add in the coming year. The parish initiates the time/talent process to help you get involved and stay involved with activities that you enjoy. This process also helps organize the parish groups within the parish; allowing group chairpersons to contact you for the various parish groups as well as allow the parish to know which parishioners are running activities in the church. Active parishioners are also given priority in the school registration process, considering date of membership and stewardship activity. Therefore, these records may be used to evaluate school admission priority.
9. Under what circumstances would our family be placed on tuition? Because active parishioners help to support the parish school through time, treasure and talent, they do not have to pay tuition to attend school. In contrast, Catholic families that do not belong to our Parish and families that have not honored their pledges or are not active participating members will be charged tuition. Some circumstances when a school family will be placed on tuition are;
   • A family does not join the parish,
   • When a family first joins the parish until they establish themselves as active parishioners
   • A family has not honored their stewardship pledge and has not communicated with the parish.
10. If our family is placed on tuition will it be permanent? Generally, no. In most circumstances, a family is placed on tuition for a temporary period of time. During this time they are encouraged to become active members of the parish to enjoy the benefit of being a part of a stewardship school.
11. Why is it important to fill out a commitment card each year? The parish needs you to fill out a stewardship card each year to verify that you are still a committed member of the parish. The Parish Administration plans and budgets based on the information on these cards.
12. What if I am unable to meet my pledge due to unforeseen circumstances (job loss, other financial hardship, etc)? It is critical to communicate with the parish office if you will not be able to meet your pledge commitments for any reason. The parish uses your commitment card to set the budget and plan expenditures for the year. Therefore, we need to know if you are unable to honor these commitments so we can also plan accordingly and make spending cuts as necessary. Also, a wonderful benefit of being part of a stewardship family is that your faith community will support you through financial hardship. However, we are unable to do so if you do not communicate the problem. Please call to talk to Susan White, SMM Business Manager @ 426-1588 if you are unable to honor your commitments to the church.
13. I still have some questions about stewardship. Who should I contact to discuss my questions? You may contact Susan White, the Business Manager, at 426-1588.