Thursday, 05 January 2012 15:12

By Coryanne Graham, Diocese of Wichita

When Bishop Michael O. Jackels visited Holy Savior Catholic Church on Thanksgiving weekend, he was given one more reason to be thankful.

The inner-city parish family had been learning about the TOGETHER Vision and praying for its success. And on Nov. 27 they were ready to contribute their share – like several parishes had before them.

Holy Savior’s parish family illustrated their understanding of the stewardship way of life with a sacrificial and proportional gift in love of God and neighbor.

Donna Douglas and Michael Birzer, co-chairs of the Holy Savior Pastoral Council, presented the bishop with a gift to the TOGETHER Vision equal to 5 percent of the parish’s annual ordinary giving.

Bishop Jackels had invited each parish to consider a gift earlier this year, but they were never required to contribute to the TOGETHER Vision.

Birzer said the council had discussed making a parish gift during several meetings. There was never a question of whether the parish would make a gift but how and how much. After months of discussion, Birzer said they decided to give the largest gift they could.

“We wanted it truly to be a sacrificial gift,” said Father Jim Billinger, Holy Savior pastor.

About 330 families call Holy Savior home. The blond brick church, located in Wichita’s central corridor, is known for Sunday Masses filled with warm welcomes and soulful music. The parish also depends heavily on outside contributions to support its school.

“I think sometimes people have the wrong impression of Holy Savior, that this is kind of a mission parish,” Fr. Billinger said. “But Holy Savior is not a mission parish. Holy Savior is a parish that has some great missions, for example education and feeding the hungry.”

Fr. Billinger says the parish family is rich in talents, gifts, prayer and worship, but “materially we are challenged because we support the school, and we depend upon a lot of generosity for the school outside of the parish.”

About a third of the operating budget for Holy Savior Catholic Academy comes from donors.

“Holy Savior has been blessed with so many benefactors with monetary gifts, and we have to give back,” Douglas said. “We should give back. It’s more than the right thing to do. I think it’s what God has placed upon our hearts.”

It’s that attitude shared by the parish that speaks directly to the definition of stewardship said Father Ken VanHaverbeke, director of stewardship for the diocese. The parish family recognizes the many blessings and gifts they have received. And they choose to share those gifts – sacrificially and proportionately – in love of God and neighbor through their parish gift to the TOGETHER Vision.

“Stewardship is not only an individual choice, but it’s also the choice of a community,” Fr. VanHaverbeke said.

And the Holy Savior community has made the choice to give, not because they see a need, but because they feel a need to give out of love.

“We didn’t give out of our surplus, but we gave out of our need (to give),” Fr. Billinger said. “Part of love is to make that sacrifice, and so that’s what we have to do. It’s not easy, but that’s where you trust and hope and pray. That’s our need to give.”

How does that “need to give” work? Fr. VanHaverbeke compares a steward’s need to give to the love that a parent feels for a child.

“You don’t love them because they need love,” he said. “You love them because you have a need to love them. As they grow older, their need to be loved changes, and the manner in which you love them will show itself differently. But your need to love them will always be there.”