Today we said farewell to "the face of St. Robert School," our receptionist, Mr. Berg. With every arrival and departure - of colleagues, families, students - I am reminded of the sheer number of people that have touched my life in my nearly 20-year tenure at this institution. Only seven of our current 34 staff members were on the team when I joined in 1999. Many more have come and gone along the way, and I'm not quite sure how to even estimate the hundreds of children who have passed through these doors in the span of those years.
I am grateful for every single one; the ones I easily loved and the ones that challenged me; the spirited and the pensive; the creative and the analytical; those with burdens and those with answers. Gratitude for all of them and the encounters we shared is what sustains me and gives my life meaning and joy.
As we prepared to send your children off to their holiday celebrations today, I invited them to consider making gratitude a way of daily life rather than just a ritual for special occasions. The formula is a simple one, though it takes a bit of discipline to get started. It begins with being fully present to every person, place, and experience of the day. That might be the hardest part. Focus! Put down the digital devices. Turn off the noise. Look. Listen. Notice. Then, allow yourself to feel. Grateful. Really. You will be amazed at how observation and attentiveness gets you there without much conscious effort. Finally, express it. What we say becomes real, even tangible. It begins to defines us and finally becomes us.
Notice, feel, say. These simple habits can lead to a truly grateful way of life, which, I think, cultivates a happy, healthy, fulfilled life. And so it is my Thanksgiving wish that God will bless each of you with the abundance of a grateful spirit to sustain you all the days of your life.
Safe travels, safe returns, and a happy, healthy Thanksgiving.
Tuesday, November 20, 2018
Thursday, August 30, 2018
We are ONE, version 2018
Looking out at the faces gathered with anticipation in the warm gym on Monday gave me an overwhelming sense of enthusiasm for the adventure - and potential - that lies just ahead. If we define our school by its people, the good-byes and hellos just behind us have given us a fresh face and a new identity. From among these many distinct voices and hearts and minds, we have actively begun the work of forging one community of purpose.
In addition to 25 new 4K students, we welcomed new students in most grade levels this year - 18 in all - with seven in the middle school alone! Several of our new students are also new to the Milwaukee area, and I am very grateful for the warm welcome you have extended to them. We have room for more, so please don't stop your ambassadorship!
In addition to moving Ann Schroeder to the fifth grade team, we welcomed three new members to our staff
In addition to moving Ann Schroeder to the fifth grade team, we welcomed three new members to our staff
- Reading: Mrs. Klawans
- Middle School Math Long-term substitute: Mr. Rohlinger
- Administrative Assistant: Ms. Hoslet
And we have just negotiated a partnership with the Conservatory of Music to provide us with a new music and choir teacher who will be introduced soon!
Our new students and staff members come to us with their own stories and passions and will follow their own distinct pathways into the future, but for this moment in time and space, we are ONE. And together we will accomplish much that is good and holy.
Let us give thanks, for God has indeed been good to us!
We thank you for a safe and comfortable school where everyone is known and loved.
We thank you for inspiring teachers who guide us and learn alongside us.
We thank you for a rainbow of friends with many gifts and many stories.
We thank you for learning tools that bring the whole world to our classrooms
We thank you for fresh rooms and shiny floors; for new pencils and new shoes; for hopscotch and kickball and new friends and new beginnings...
Help us to live and work each day in the glory of God
AMEN
Monday, July 30, 2018
Tick, tock...turn
Earlier this summer, I noticed that the clock in my office had stopped working. I replaced the battery without effect, so took it home for my husband to investigate. After cleaning the contacts and trying a different battery, he declared that there was no way to repair it. The cherished memento of fifteen years at St. Robert would likely have to be relegated to life as a fancy paperweight. I moved it to my dresser at home while contemplating how to proceed. Then, ever so mysteriously, it simply resumed ticking in the middle of one night. It's back in my office now, in a new location where I can keep a closer eye on it - and where the rhythm of the tick brings a new kind of mindfulness to my work.
The "Mysterious Incident of the Clock in the Night" has become a bit of a metaphor for the seasons of life: a time to rest, a time to work; a time to scatter and a time to gather. On a personal note, I was blessed with the opportunity to travel this summer. My husband and I took a road trip to the Rocky Mountains, giving us a cherished week to reconnect with each other and immerse ourselves in the grandeur of God's presence. I felt so small, so awed - and so restored. I hope that you, too, have had moments to appreciate sunshine and gentle breezes and to make some new family memories - whether at home or away - as you begin to bring a new school year into focus.
And focus we must. As the school year ahead comes more clearly into view, the projects of summer increase to an almost dizzying cadence. This summer, our work in the school office has centered heavily on five work streams: enrollment and marketing, facility maintenance and improvements, curriculum enhancements, personnel shifts - and as always - bringing financial closure to the year just completed.
This summer, our marketing efforts have been directed not only at active recruitment, but also heavily on finishing the content development for our soon-to-launch new school website. A year and a half in the making, we are both nervous and excited to see how our words and images will align with our developer's vision. We are hopeful that this contemporary new tool will more efficiently serve our current stakeholders, in addition to attracting a growing community of school families to St. Robert through improved search engine optimization as well as an updated look, message, and functionality.
Facility upgrades are almost always on our summer task list and this year has been no different. We're excited to welcome you back to first floor classrooms refreshed by contemporary new flooring and carpeting. We're also grateful to have been awarded a $20,000 grant by the State of Wisconsin toward a planned update of our phone and PA systems. After weeks of cabling and network mapping, our new phone system is due to go online next week Monday through Wednesday. Thanks for your patience as we make this massive transition that will serve us all more reliably. We have also been invited to apply for a second round of state safety grants, which, if granted, would allow us to upgrade our classroom door locks to ADA- and lockdown-compliant standards. Stay tuned!
Summer is always an important time to focus deeply on curriculum work. The year ahead will see us take important next steps in the development of our literacy curriculum. With a major investment from our School Society endowment fund, we have been able to retain two literacy consultants (K-2nd grade and 3rd-5th grade) who will guide us in full implementation of Readers' and Writers' Workshops, the industry standards of excellence in literacy education. We started the summer with two days of professional learning and are in the process of making a significant investment in books and resources to support more personalized and scaffolded reading development. Additionally, we are privileged to be among the first schools to launch a beautiful new Theology of the Body program across grade levels that will supplement our religion curriculum in cultivating a rich understanding of God's plan for humanity and developing a school culture that confidently upholds the dignity of every person. Also in the area of curriculum, we are excited to roll out our first Project Lead the Way (PLTW) course in robotics. And finally, the nine schools in our Archdiocesan deanery (North Shore and Ozaukee County region) are hard at work on a continuous improvement plan and collaborative professional learning that will begin to bring our schools into closer alignment on the journey toward best practice initiatives.
The nature of the school year almost invariably brings personnel changes during the summer months as well. Early this summer, we bid an unexpected farewell to our general music teacher, Thea Janisch, who has accepted a position in her hometown of Stoughton, and just recently, to our reading specialist, Sara Lasic, who has stepped away for personal reasons. We are currently close to closure in the searches for their replacements and hope to be able to announce new team members in our next communication. We thank Thea and Sara for their contributions to our mission and wish them well in their next endeavors. Also in the personnel arena, former first grade teacher Ann Schroeder will be bringing her expertise in literacy to fifth grade, and we are pleased (and relieved) to welcome Alexandra Hoslet to our office team just in time to update the data bases for the new school year and help us put together our first fully digitized back-to-school packet! Ms. Hoslet replaces Administrative Assistant Emily Tanski, who left us in October. She will gradually assume additional responsibilities in the area of communications (newsletter, website, social media, coordination with event chairs, etc.). Be sure to introduce yourself next time you're in the office!
Finally - as always - summer is heavily colored by tasks related to financial closure of the year just ended. Thanks to all of you who have cleared your accounts, allowing us to invest responsibly in personnel and resources for the year ahead.
The ferris wheel at State Fair is about to turn, and so too must we. My clock reminds me that we are fortified by times of respite, just as we are energized by the purpose and rhythm of a return to work. May these last precious weeks of summer bring you fulfillment and rest and may you return your children to us a little taller, a little wiser, and ready to write the script of a new year of learning and growth.
The "Mysterious Incident of the Clock in the Night" has become a bit of a metaphor for the seasons of life: a time to rest, a time to work; a time to scatter and a time to gather. On a personal note, I was blessed with the opportunity to travel this summer. My husband and I took a road trip to the Rocky Mountains, giving us a cherished week to reconnect with each other and immerse ourselves in the grandeur of God's presence. I felt so small, so awed - and so restored. I hope that you, too, have had moments to appreciate sunshine and gentle breezes and to make some new family memories - whether at home or away - as you begin to bring a new school year into focus.
And focus we must. As the school year ahead comes more clearly into view, the projects of summer increase to an almost dizzying cadence. This summer, our work in the school office has centered heavily on five work streams: enrollment and marketing, facility maintenance and improvements, curriculum enhancements, personnel shifts - and as always - bringing financial closure to the year just completed.
This summer, our marketing efforts have been directed not only at active recruitment, but also heavily on finishing the content development for our soon-to-launch new school website. A year and a half in the making, we are both nervous and excited to see how our words and images will align with our developer's vision. We are hopeful that this contemporary new tool will more efficiently serve our current stakeholders, in addition to attracting a growing community of school families to St. Robert through improved search engine optimization as well as an updated look, message, and functionality.
Facility upgrades are almost always on our summer task list and this year has been no different. We're excited to welcome you back to first floor classrooms refreshed by contemporary new flooring and carpeting. We're also grateful to have been awarded a $20,000 grant by the State of Wisconsin toward a planned update of our phone and PA systems. After weeks of cabling and network mapping, our new phone system is due to go online next week Monday through Wednesday. Thanks for your patience as we make this massive transition that will serve us all more reliably. We have also been invited to apply for a second round of state safety grants, which, if granted, would allow us to upgrade our classroom door locks to ADA- and lockdown-compliant standards. Stay tuned!
Summer is always an important time to focus deeply on curriculum work. The year ahead will see us take important next steps in the development of our literacy curriculum. With a major investment from our School Society endowment fund, we have been able to retain two literacy consultants (K-2nd grade and 3rd-5th grade) who will guide us in full implementation of Readers' and Writers' Workshops, the industry standards of excellence in literacy education. We started the summer with two days of professional learning and are in the process of making a significant investment in books and resources to support more personalized and scaffolded reading development. Additionally, we are privileged to be among the first schools to launch a beautiful new Theology of the Body program across grade levels that will supplement our religion curriculum in cultivating a rich understanding of God's plan for humanity and developing a school culture that confidently upholds the dignity of every person. Also in the area of curriculum, we are excited to roll out our first Project Lead the Way (PLTW) course in robotics. And finally, the nine schools in our Archdiocesan deanery (North Shore and Ozaukee County region) are hard at work on a continuous improvement plan and collaborative professional learning that will begin to bring our schools into closer alignment on the journey toward best practice initiatives.
The nature of the school year almost invariably brings personnel changes during the summer months as well. Early this summer, we bid an unexpected farewell to our general music teacher, Thea Janisch, who has accepted a position in her hometown of Stoughton, and just recently, to our reading specialist, Sara Lasic, who has stepped away for personal reasons. We are currently close to closure in the searches for their replacements and hope to be able to announce new team members in our next communication. We thank Thea and Sara for their contributions to our mission and wish them well in their next endeavors. Also in the personnel arena, former first grade teacher Ann Schroeder will be bringing her expertise in literacy to fifth grade, and we are pleased (and relieved) to welcome Alexandra Hoslet to our office team just in time to update the data bases for the new school year and help us put together our first fully digitized back-to-school packet! Ms. Hoslet replaces Administrative Assistant Emily Tanski, who left us in October. She will gradually assume additional responsibilities in the area of communications (newsletter, website, social media, coordination with event chairs, etc.). Be sure to introduce yourself next time you're in the office!
Finally - as always - summer is heavily colored by tasks related to financial closure of the year just ended. Thanks to all of you who have cleared your accounts, allowing us to invest responsibly in personnel and resources for the year ahead.
The ferris wheel at State Fair is about to turn, and so too must we. My clock reminds me that we are fortified by times of respite, just as we are energized by the purpose and rhythm of a return to work. May these last precious weeks of summer bring you fulfillment and rest and may you return your children to us a little taller, a little wiser, and ready to write the script of a new year of learning and growth.
Thursday, May 24, 2018
Man plants, God grants
At today's school Mass, we blessed and thanked the gardeners who have tended our parish grounds over the past three decades. Months ago, when Father asked me to dedicate a school Mass to recognizing this special group of volunteers, I wondered if a humble school Mass was the best setting for such an important tribute. As I pondered it, however, I soon came to realize that it would be a perfect opportunity to form our students to live gratefully - which is one of our most important responsibilities as a Catholic school community. And what better thing than a garden to teach us to pause. And notice. And appreciate what God has lovingly, miraculously granted.
One particular part of our landscape has profoundly influenced my own development of a grateful life. It's those three magnificent trees planted directly in front of the school - just outside the office windows as my luck would have it. They seem close enough for me to touch at times. As it turns out, they reach out and touch me every season.
The life of a Catholic school leader is complex and requires extended hours and days inside the school walls. Hyper-focused on a distracting range of tasks, on a schedule that often starts and ends in darkness, makes me especially vulnerable to missing God's gift of the seasons. But just when I least expect it, the trees catch my attention, take my breath away, and ground me once again in God's goodness. Whether it's when the bare branches are traced with snow and ice or exploding with a snowstorm of white blossoms as they did just about a week ago; whether they're covered with lush greenery that attracts songbirds, or transformed by a blanket of warm autumn colors; like silent sentinels, the trees are a powerful reminder that God is always here - right here - watching over me, over your children, over our beloved school.
I know He's here because I'm a gardener, too. And every gardener knows that we can stick a seedling into the ground. We can water it and tend it and groom it, but it's God that gives it the transforming miracle of life. Short of giving birth, I think there is no more powerful way to co-create with God than to plant and tend a garden.
Join me in gratitude for our parish gardens and for the men and women whose hands and backs and love have given them to us. To encourage the hundred of students and parents who pass through our doors each week to pause and reflect on this gift, we have planted a little plaque near the Jesus and children statue at the southeast corner of the school. It reads:
Our little sign won't grow into a plant that changes with the seasons, but we hope it will grow generations of grateful people - and perhaps, a future gardener or two. I hope to one day be among them.
Special thanks to Mrs. Dietz and the fifth graders, Fr. Dennis, and Mrs. Flynn and the kindergarten teachers and students for beautiful words, beautiful roses, and a beautiful song. And thanks to Ms. Lesjak for organizing all the details - as always!
One particular part of our landscape has profoundly influenced my own development of a grateful life. It's those three magnificent trees planted directly in front of the school - just outside the office windows as my luck would have it. They seem close enough for me to touch at times. As it turns out, they reach out and touch me every season.
The life of a Catholic school leader is complex and requires extended hours and days inside the school walls. Hyper-focused on a distracting range of tasks, on a schedule that often starts and ends in darkness, makes me especially vulnerable to missing God's gift of the seasons. But just when I least expect it, the trees catch my attention, take my breath away, and ground me once again in God's goodness. Whether it's when the bare branches are traced with snow and ice or exploding with a snowstorm of white blossoms as they did just about a week ago; whether they're covered with lush greenery that attracts songbirds, or transformed by a blanket of warm autumn colors; like silent sentinels, the trees are a powerful reminder that God is always here - right here - watching over me, over your children, over our beloved school.
I know He's here because I'm a gardener, too. And every gardener knows that we can stick a seedling into the ground. We can water it and tend it and groom it, but it's God that gives it the transforming miracle of life. Short of giving birth, I think there is no more powerful way to co-create with God than to plant and tend a garden.
Join me in gratitude for our parish gardens and for the men and women whose hands and backs and love have given them to us. To encourage the hundred of students and parents who pass through our doors each week to pause and reflect on this gift, we have planted a little plaque near the Jesus and children statue at the southeast corner of the school. It reads:
St. Robert Parish
recognizes with gratitude
the generations of laborers
who have created and tended these holy grounds.
+
All for the greater honor and glory of God
Our little sign won't grow into a plant that changes with the seasons, but we hope it will grow generations of grateful people - and perhaps, a future gardener or two. I hope to one day be among them.
Special thanks to Mrs. Dietz and the fifth graders, Fr. Dennis, and Mrs. Flynn and the kindergarten teachers and students for beautiful words, beautiful roses, and a beautiful song. And thanks to Ms. Lesjak for organizing all the details - as always!
Thursday, March 22, 2018
Destinations
As winter exhales its final blustery breath, we look forward with anticipation to the changes just ahead. But be careful! Our longing for the freshness and color and life that these days will inevitably bring can block our view of the most amazing renewal of all: our own transformation as people of faith walking the journey of Holy Week.
The holiest of weeks invites us into deep companionship with Jesus - and into the incredible gift of his Divine Mercy. Don't miss it! I know that many of you will be hitting the road or the skies for wonderful family adventures during our Easter break. As you make your final travel checklists, be sure to include the most fulfilling experience of the year on your itinerary.
Holy Week begins with Palm Sunday this weekend. Lent ends on Wednesday, and on Thursday, we enter into the Triduum, or "Three Days" that recall Christ's Passion, Death, and Resurrection. We are so blessed that we can join Christians anywhere in the free world for these very same rituals: The Mass of the Last Supper on Thursday night; remembrance of Jesus' suffering and death in the early afternoon of Good Friday; and our celebration of the resurrection at the Easter Vigil after sundown on Holy Saturday - a high liturgy complete with the blessing of fire and water, the story of salvation history, and the first, grand A*******s of the season!
This morning, an unknown visitor rang our school bell looking for assistance finding a church with a sunrise service on Easter - so she would be able to implement her Sunday morning travel plans. Even in a Catholic community, it seems that this confident prioritization of lived faith is too rare. So here's your challenge: Don't be shy about joining with a church community wherever you find yourself during these high holy days. It's your faith. It's your destination. Live it - and pass it on.
Wishing you safe travels and a deeply fulfilling Easter season.
The holiest of weeks invites us into deep companionship with Jesus - and into the incredible gift of his Divine Mercy. Don't miss it! I know that many of you will be hitting the road or the skies for wonderful family adventures during our Easter break. As you make your final travel checklists, be sure to include the most fulfilling experience of the year on your itinerary.
Holy Week begins with Palm Sunday this weekend. Lent ends on Wednesday, and on Thursday, we enter into the Triduum, or "Three Days" that recall Christ's Passion, Death, and Resurrection. We are so blessed that we can join Christians anywhere in the free world for these very same rituals: The Mass of the Last Supper on Thursday night; remembrance of Jesus' suffering and death in the early afternoon of Good Friday; and our celebration of the resurrection at the Easter Vigil after sundown on Holy Saturday - a high liturgy complete with the blessing of fire and water, the story of salvation history, and the first, grand A*******s of the season!
This morning, an unknown visitor rang our school bell looking for assistance finding a church with a sunrise service on Easter - so she would be able to implement her Sunday morning travel plans. Even in a Catholic community, it seems that this confident prioritization of lived faith is too rare. So here's your challenge: Don't be shy about joining with a church community wherever you find yourself during these high holy days. It's your faith. It's your destination. Live it - and pass it on.
Wishing you safe travels and a deeply fulfilling Easter season.
Thursday, March 1, 2018
Context matters
I've often quoted the American Academy of Pediatrics and American Optometric Association when reminding parents about the quantitative limits we should place on our children's use of screens. The more ubiquitous screens become in our daily lives, however, the less effective a simple number is in providing adequate guidance in making these important parenting decisions.
In just a few years time, we've moved from clear quantitative guidance - no screens before 18 months, no more than an hour a day between age two and five, no hand-held devices before age five - to having to consider the complex interactions of a host of factors.
Just last year, in fact, researchers from the Oxford Internet Institute and Cardiff University found that there was no correlation between parents’ adherence to screen time guidelines and their children’s psychological wellbeing, concluding that it's the way we allow our children to use these tools that is decisive in impacting their wellbeing.
I've been triangulating information from a variety of sources on this topic for many years. My own take-aways are these:
In just a few years time, we've moved from clear quantitative guidance - no screens before 18 months, no more than an hour a day between age two and five, no hand-held devices before age five - to having to consider the complex interactions of a host of factors.
Just last year, in fact, researchers from the Oxford Internet Institute and Cardiff University found that there was no correlation between parents’ adherence to screen time guidelines and their children’s psychological wellbeing, concluding that it's the way we allow our children to use these tools that is decisive in impacting their wellbeing.
- Is the experience passive, as in watching a TV show or movie, or active as in video-chatting with a grandparent - or somewhere in the middle like playing games?
- Is the activity balanced with healthy amounts of active, creative, and social activity?
- And always, what is the redeeming value of the media itself?
I've been triangulating information from a variety of sources on this topic for many years. My own take-aways are these:
- Parents need to direct, guide and monitor the use of all media.
- Devices themselves are neither inherently good or bad.
- The right kind of screen time can have a positive impact on development.
- The amount of media consumption, age of use, time of day, and type of device are factors that do impact neurological and physiological development and performance (e.g., quality of sleep).
- It remains wise to "consume with caution" and consider the intersection of quantity and quality.
- We need to preserve media-free times, activities, and locations.
Thursday, January 11, 2018
See, do, and understand
There's an oft-quoted Chinese proverb that says, "Tell me and I'll forget; show me and I may remember; involve me and I'll understand," or, more succinctly, "I hear and I forget; I see and I remember; I do and I understand." Despite the wisdom of the ages, all effective instructional pedagogy is still based on this simple principle of active learning. We know how to apply it in the classroom, but it's good, now and then, to think about how this principle applies to learning skills and forming character in the broader school of life.
Earlier this week, our parish staff shared some important take-aways from an Archdiocesan conference on the spirituality of stewardship. A discussion ensued about how we adults came to integrate this theology into our own lives. It quickly became clear that generosity and the responsibility to care for the resources we have been granted is instilled by our families. And it didn't take long for us to recognize that in this age of online giving, children no longer have ready role models or vehicles for the financial aspect of parish stewardship.
When most of us were growing up, both children and parents brought weekly envelopes to church. One colleague mentioned that her family's church envelopes were kept on a table near the door so as not to forget them on the way out on Sunday morning. Children were routinely taught that a portion of their weekly allowance was for church and followed their parents' example in dropping coins or an envelope into the collection basket.
Today, even churches encourage online giving. It's a good stewardship of everyone's time and resources. But we haven't really considered how to replace the modeling lost to children's eyes - and somewhere along the way, as our adult habits changed, many families stopped teaching children how to allocate a defined portion of their allowances to charity in general, and church in particular.
Fr. Peter Patrick brought a clarity of understanding in which lies, I think, a way to restore lost opportunities for this important formation of our children. He explained that tithing and coming to church with an offering are two distinct responsibilities of Christians. It seems that tithing based on our income can occur outside the context of liturgy, but an essential part of our participation in the sacrament of the Mass is to make an offering - not just the symbolic offering of the fruit of the earth and the vine and the work of human hands, but something tangible from each of us. So, in truth, we should be bringing something of ourselves forward at the Offertory each week - even if we tithe or fulfill our designated pledge to church online. This was, in truth, a revelation for me.
Stewardship, of course requires our time and talent and involvement as much as our treasure. But we can't forget that it does require treasure, too. When we think about financial stewardship in this radically simple way, it doesn't seem so difficult to get back to the family ritual of weekly giving to church. And it is precisely the rhythmic and ritual nature of this kind of giving from which habits are born and spirituality grows.
Our responsibility for the faith we've been given and the Church with which we've been entrusted requires that we give some thought as to how we can pass it on. Let's be intentional in nurturing a theology of stewardship in our children by providing both a model and a vehicle for their generosity. Let's let them see and do to make sure they will understand.
Earlier this week, our parish staff shared some important take-aways from an Archdiocesan conference on the spirituality of stewardship. A discussion ensued about how we adults came to integrate this theology into our own lives. It quickly became clear that generosity and the responsibility to care for the resources we have been granted is instilled by our families. And it didn't take long for us to recognize that in this age of online giving, children no longer have ready role models or vehicles for the financial aspect of parish stewardship.
When most of us were growing up, both children and parents brought weekly envelopes to church. One colleague mentioned that her family's church envelopes were kept on a table near the door so as not to forget them on the way out on Sunday morning. Children were routinely taught that a portion of their weekly allowance was for church and followed their parents' example in dropping coins or an envelope into the collection basket.
Today, even churches encourage online giving. It's a good stewardship of everyone's time and resources. But we haven't really considered how to replace the modeling lost to children's eyes - and somewhere along the way, as our adult habits changed, many families stopped teaching children how to allocate a defined portion of their allowances to charity in general, and church in particular.
Fr. Peter Patrick brought a clarity of understanding in which lies, I think, a way to restore lost opportunities for this important formation of our children. He explained that tithing and coming to church with an offering are two distinct responsibilities of Christians. It seems that tithing based on our income can occur outside the context of liturgy, but an essential part of our participation in the sacrament of the Mass is to make an offering - not just the symbolic offering of the fruit of the earth and the vine and the work of human hands, but something tangible from each of us. So, in truth, we should be bringing something of ourselves forward at the Offertory each week - even if we tithe or fulfill our designated pledge to church online. This was, in truth, a revelation for me.
Stewardship, of course requires our time and talent and involvement as much as our treasure. But we can't forget that it does require treasure, too. When we think about financial stewardship in this radically simple way, it doesn't seem so difficult to get back to the family ritual of weekly giving to church. And it is precisely the rhythmic and ritual nature of this kind of giving from which habits are born and spirituality grows.
Our responsibility for the faith we've been given and the Church with which we've been entrusted requires that we give some thought as to how we can pass it on. Let's be intentional in nurturing a theology of stewardship in our children by providing both a model and a vehicle for their generosity. Let's let them see and do to make sure they will understand.
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