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.
