JOHNSTOWN, PA -- His Grace Bishop Gregory and Protopresbyter Frank Miloro, Chancellor, hosted the Spring 2015 meeting of the Diocesan Stewardship Commission at the Diocesan Chancery in Johnstown on May 5, 2015.

The Commission welcomed its three newest members; Daniel Hromyak of St. John the Baptist Church in Hermitage, PA, Barbara Knighton of St. Michael church in Binghamton, NY, and Andrew Podolak of Nativity of our Lord Mission Parish in Manassas, VA.  (Left to Right: Daniel Hromyak, John Bilanin, Barbara Knighton, Fr. Frederick Watson, Bishop Gregory, Fr. Basil Aden, Fr. Frank Miloro and Dn. Stephen Hall Not pictured, but in attendance: Andrew Podolak)

Following opening prayers, Commission Chair Father Frederick Watson noted that of the fourteen Deaneries of our Diocese, only two (Youngstown and New Jersey) have hosted Stewardship Workshops to date. The Commission, with the support and at the urging of Bishop Gregory, hopes to visit and lead Stewardship Workshops in each of the remaining dozen Deaneries of the Diocese before the end of October, 2015.

The Commission, in the interest of efficiency and of promoting communication among our parishes, has generally adopted a policy of conducting stewardship workshops at the deanery level rather than at the individual parish level. However, exceptions can be made in cases of urgent need.

One such exception took place recently at the request of Father Edward Pehanich at St. Nicholas Parish in Monongahela, PA. Father Edward and the faithful of the parish had been preparing over time to implement 'Stewardship as a Way of Life,' and were ready to take the plunge. They were looking for practical help, and Commission member Stephanie Betsa was there to help provide precisely that. Stephanie also facilitated the recent Stewardship Workshop for the New Jersey Deanery, with a focus on the spiritual aspects of stewardship as well as guiding small groups in assessing their parish's' readiness to proceed with implementing stewardship programs.

Commission member John Bilanin has made visits to St. John the Baptist Church in Perth Amboy, NJ on two occasions; first to meet with the parish stewardship committee there, and subsequently to meet with all of the parishioners present following the Divine Liturgy. As was the case in Monongahela, the Perth Amboy parish had requested help with the practical aspects of conversion from a 'dues-paying' to a proportional giving system of supporting the ministries of the parish. John reports that the parish is now well on its way, using a model based on that used by his home parish, Holy Ghost Church in Phoenixville, PA. John also noted that Phoenixville has been able to reduce its need for parish fund-raising activities, and that the remaining efforts have become nearly as beneficial for their social value as they are for fund raising.

Looking ahead, a truly landmark advance toward making 'Stewardship a Way of Life' is coming soon! Commission Chairman Fr. Frederick Watson reports that the Commission's Resource III is in final draft form, and will be distributed to diocesan parishes during the deanery meetings in September and October. The focus of Resource III is on Cultivating Servant Stewardship in the Parish. This resource includes a Guidebook and an accompanying collection of exercises authored by Commission member Father Basil Aden.

Fr. Basil notes that with Resource III the Commission is making an effort to move us 'onward and upward' from the customary terminology of stewardship resources (e.g., Time, Talent, Volunteer) to the use of our spiritual gifts based directly on the teachings of Saint Paul. In accordance with the Apostle's teachings, the role of parish leadership – both clergy and laity - is to identify, call out, and employ the spiritual gifts of the faithful. Fr. Basil has developed a program that begins with a Scripture Study to establish a solid scriptural, Orthodox grounding that develops the theology of spiritual gifts, and then move on to the very practical process of identifying and assessing those gifts in practice. This is followed by solid guidance for implementation of the process by the ongoing management of the identified and recruited gifts. Its purposes are to (1) Build up the body of Christ, and (2) promote servant stewardship not only in the parish, but in the world around us!

His Grace, Bishop Gregory noted that this is why each priest needs to KNOW his flock for this to work! He needs to both talk with and listen to his people in order to discern their God-given and unique gifts.

Acknowledging that growth in our Diocese – and in Orthodoxy generally – is through converts to the one, true Faith, Father Basil noted that catechumens are at a critical point for having their gifts discerned and for their being 'plugged into' the life of the parish. Within the first year their gifts must be actively employed; otherwise, in many cases they will be lost to the parish.

Fr. Frederick, Commission Chairman, noted that the parish priest needs to find – or make – a place for each catechumen in the life of the parish. And then it's important to be sure their gifts are recognized in and by the parish family.

On a more worldly or secular note, the Commission recognized that laws concerning issues of child and sexual abuse are changing. Church 'volunteers' need to be aware of these and need to comply with them. Each Diocesan parish needs to be aware of the governmental regulations that apply to it, and to comply with those regulations, especially with respect to  doing background checks on those who will be working in parish youth programs.

And on a more cheerful note, Volume II of the adventures of Steward the Church Mouse will also be released this fall, along with instruction guides for both younger and older students. These materials are suitable for incorporation into church school curricula as well as in less formal settings – perhaps even at home with the family! Please distribute and make use of them in your parish!

We hope you have been enjoying – and benefiting from – the weekly Stewardship blog that appears on the home page of www.acrod.org. Bishop Gregory noted that the weekly bulletins of approximately one third of our diocesan parishes  have been regularly incorporating these messages in their pages. Please consider ways of putting these messages into practice in your personal and parish life!

In the 'Stewardship Success' category, Commission member Daniel Hromyak reported that the Hermitage, PA parish of St. John the Baptist is in the process of successfully implementing its adaptation of the the Holy Ghost parish's (Phoenixville, PA) stewardship program (see Resource I).

There is also an excellent model stewardship program available through the Greek Archdiocese of America here:

http://www.goarch.org/archdiocese/departments/stewardship/resources/2015.

Please don't feel that your parish needs to re-invent the Stewardship wheel! An abundance of material is available at www.acrod.org, or send an email to your Stewardship Commission – stewardship@acrod.org. And continue to watch for us in 'Stewardship: A Way of Life' in each issue of The Church Messenger.