Stewardship: Give From The Heart

Believe it or not, there is a difference between fundraising and teaching people to give.

Rick Warren illustrated this difference by saying, “I am very much against fundraising, but I am in favor of teaching people to give. Fundraising is what I call collecting money from other people in return for a product, service, reward, or recognition. But in giving, we simply challenge ourselves to give out of our own resources for spiritual reasons. The result of fundraising is that funds are collected. The results of teaching people to be givers are that funds are collected and disciples are developed.”

If you take our parish into consideration, we have only one “fundraiser” each year, our parish festival. The objective of our festival is to offer a family friendly event where people can enjoy themselves, as well as time with others, while raising funds for our parish community. It is a highly anticipated event that has been a staple in the community for 41 years now.

As a parish we do not see it as our mission to “fundraise”. We do however recognize our obligation to teach the biblical concept of tithing and stewardship. It is through the generosity of these gifts that we are able to have our church doors open to so many each and every day.

Our intention is for you to experience joyful giving from the heart when you contribute to St. Joan of Arc. We hope that your giving is an investment in our mission as Christians. The vision for our parish is not about the buildings and people we see around us, but rather what those buildings and people will help us do.