A letter from Bishop Jackels

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
As family and friends prepare to gather around dining room tables next Thursday to give thanks to God for all of the blessings received from Him, I express my gratitude to you for your generosity in sharing of your material and spiritual gifts with your parish, the diocese and the wider Church. It is not sufficient to give thanks only one day a year. For the Christian steward, our lives are to be rooted in gratitude.
For the last few months, I have been traveling each weekend to parishes throughout our diocese to share the story of the TOGETHER Vision. One of the goals of this vision is to deepen our practice of stewardship as a way of life, sharing responsibility for the mission of the Church.
This weekend is the “Call to Commitment” Sunday, whereby parishioners throughout the diocese are called to share of their gifts to their parish in pledging the gift of self, through time, talent and treasure. The theme for this year’s stewardship renewal is “Stewardship: Recognizing and Receiving God’s Gifts.” Included in this edition of The Catholic Advance, you will find a special four-page insert that highlights our annual stewardship renewal for this year, as well as a financial accounting of the gifts received from you to the diocese and how we seek to be faithful stewards of those gifts to fulfill the mission of the Church.
It is a blessing for families to gather together around the dining room table to be nourished in body and spirit. What a blessing it is for us as Catholics to gather together around the Altar at our parishes throughout the Diocese of Wichita. From the Altar, we recognize and receive God’s greatest gift, the gift of His Son, Jesus Christ.
May your time with family and friends on Thanksgiving Day be a graced and joyous occasion. Together, may we give thanks to God for all the gifts He entrusts to us as His stewards.
Sincerely yours in Christ,
Michael O. Jackels
Bishop of Wichita