Rev. Theodore K. Parker, Pastor
OUR TIME, TALENT AND TREASURE
AS I think of this Sunday and this past week, I cannot help but think of the tremendous importance that I am setting on it and hope you will be with me as well. Here is how it all came to be. Last winter it just came to me that our relationship with St. Luke would not come to be as I had been praying and striving for. If one cannot persuade then one can do nothing. One morning I must have awoken with a jolt but I was just beside myself with wondering how will St. Cecilia succeed? How can we go it alone? At that time I shouted out to a Ceciliaville Board Member and then I shouted out at a Leadership Conference Good Shepherds, Good Leaders. I learned how important it is for a parish to plan and to plan well its present time and its future. It became clear to me that the previous approach to parish management meant much reliance financially on the Archdiocese. In the future we cannot do that. Each parish will have to succeed on its own. Put this bit of evidence along with the fact that the City of Detroit keeps loosing people from over a million and a half thirty years ago, to just above 800,000 now. What do you do? We have faithful people here and a number of people who live around the parish as well. We have a school which this year is on par with the number of students we were looking for. Teachers and parents are truly wonderful. Last Saturday we had an excellent first retreat for children and teens. Thirty seven came. Parents were happy. Our volunteers were outstanding. Volunteers came up with a budget and paid for everything. A parish like ours deserves to continue. How can this happen when the big three auto makers are cutting back and people are not just leaving Detroit but Michigan as well. How will we survive? Here is part of an answer that our staff and parish council have been looking at. I am asking them to come up with their own KEY RESPONSIBILITY AREAS. Here is the first one I have been praying over for the last four months.
A KRA FOR ST CECILIA
EDUCATE AND PLAN A TITHING PARISH PROGRAM, SO THAT WE AS A PARISH CAN BETTER RESPOND TO GOD'S PLAN FOR US.
GOAL
Implement a realistic program and plan to measure the effectiveness of this
Key Responsibility Area for St Cecilia Parish
Tasks
1. Meet with Parish Council and other specially invited parish members to study and concretize this KRA.
2. Thursday, September 20th - Fr. Norm Nawrocki of St Regis parish to speak to us about his experience. Parish Council
and others present.
3. Friday, September 21st - Fr. Don Sterling from New All Saints Church in Baltimore to speak and teach us about his
experience of tithing. Parish Council and parish to be present.
4. Saturday, September 22nd - Special Workshop by Fr. Sterling. Times to be set by parish council.
5. Sunday - September 23rd - Fr. Sterling to preach at both 8:30 and 11 am Masses. (Love offering to be taken up for
him at both Masses)
6. Each month thereafter we will indicate the number of families and individuals who have taken up the challenge to tithe.
IN the Gospel today Jesus gives us an embezzler as a model. None of us are like this man in the Gospel, however we must use what we have to best take advantage of the time, talent and treasure God has given to us now. I pray that your experience of these two priests was motivating for you. I hope that those of you who came to the Vicariate Meeting at Presentation - Our Lady of Victory were motivated by those young people who gave us examples of how the Church can reach young people from 20 - 35. All this is hopeful and is necessary for our future. May God bless our efforts.
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