Panel discusses stewardship at A Gift Unveiled evening

Bishop Carl A. Kemme and a panel of three priests discussed how stewardship is a spiritual way of life and not a program or a method of financial management at the A Gift Unveiled stewardship evening Friday, Sept. 13, at Church of the Magdalen Parish in Wichita.

The bishop said discipleship, which has been the focus of stewardship in the Diocese of Wichita, is the primordial question of the Gospel.

“Jesus said ‘Come and follow me,’” the bishop said. “His invitation again and again was to various people, first to the apostles and then to all of the disciples. So, discipleship is following Jesus. It’s as simple as that, it’s profound as that. It’s all encompassing.”

That call is different at various stages of our lives, he said.

“We, of course, have baptism, but then there’s that more personal call that we receive at certain times when we really profoundly encounter Christ and we hear that in an unmistakable – in the clearest way – that we’re now called to live our lives with him as the center. That is, I think, the life of a disciple.”

Fr. John Lanzrath, the pastor of St. John the Apostle Parish in El Dorado, Fr. John Jirak, the evening’s moderator and pastor of Magdalen parish, and Fr. Michael Brungardt, pastor of St. Paul Parish in Lyons, Holy Trinity in Little River, and Holy Name of Jesus in Bushton were also part of the panel.

History of stewardship

Fr. Lanzrath talked briefly about the history of stewardship in the diocese and how the months-long effort to compose a memorable, teachable definition of stewardship helped redirect the understanding that stewardship is primarily not about finance but is a spiritual way of life.

“Monsignor McGread…always said the Bible is the textbook of stewardship,” Fr. Lanzrath said.
“I love what you’re doing as far as developing the relational component that stewardship is not just about time, talent, and then treasure. It’s about a relationship of living in love with Christ and imitating Christ, because that really is a disciple, that you begin to imitate the one whom you are following.”

Fr. Brungardt, who Fr. Jirak described as growing up with the stewardship model, said, “I grew up in the stewardship way of life, and I didn’t even know it existed. I just think it was just the air we all breathed.”
He said he and other Millennials are driven by desire. “We want something good. We want something beautiful. And so that’s always what I’ve found. The challenge, especially now, leading a parish, is trying to tap into that. It’s trying to tap into this desire that’s within us all.”

Referring to the just revealed painting of the Good Samaritan, Fr. Brungardt said, it’s easy to ask what do I need to do but it’s the why that needs to be explained.

“When Jesus calls the disciples – he calls them first in Mark’s gospel – to be with him, and then to send them out. First and foremost, it’s that relationship he forms with him, to be with him. A very wise priest once told me that it’s first and foremost about being with the Good before it’s about doing the good. That’s really just stuck with me.”

Fr. Jirak said desire without discipline is chaos and then asked: “How do we move as far as the waking and desire to follow the Lord and the animating that happens in that to the formation that’s required day in and day out?”

Bishop Kemme explained to the 350 attending that Fr. Jirak, who is on his leadership team, often refers to muscle memory.

“I think there’s a lot of truth to that. You just keep doing it. You repeat it. You repeat it, even though you may not have the whys or the understanding, the fullness of the understanding, but you just keep moving forward, one step in front of the other.”

Never meant to be easy

It was never meant to be easy, he said. “It never was, and it never will be, so we keep practicing the the discipline of living a stewardship way of life, of living a disciple’s life. And when we fall, when we fail, we get back up and we try again.”

Looking out at the tables that filled the gym he said he recognized those who he has known for 10 years.
“I see the impact that you’re having in your parishes and in our diocese, and it’s because you’ve been practicing stewardship. You’ve been living this one day at a time in simple and yet profound ways, and you’ve never abandoned that.

“I did not have this background where I came from, but it’s really changed my whole way of thinking, my whole way of praying, my way of living, my own vocation as a priest and now as your bishop, to think about this as a personal relationship with Jesus. Let’s keep coming back to it again and again. There’s no easy way to get to the master level, if you will. But we just keep trying and in our trying, our Lord blesses us and there’s rewards to that.”

First generation question

Fr. Jirak asked: “What would you say to priests and parish leaders as one who has come from the first generation of stewardship?”

Fr. Lanzrath said, “Apathy is our greatest threat. And a consequence of apathy is entitlement. One of the fears that I see is that if, in fact, we don’t continue to pass on the spirituality of stewardship and the understanding of the sacrifice of what is involved, and of those generations before us who have made great sacrifices to pass on this great gift of faith, it leads to a sense of ‘I’m entitled to this.’”

He said everything we have came from God and our response is gratitude, he said.

“When, in fact, we all share the gifts that God has given us, then all of us benefit. But when we begin to think, well, I deserve this, I earned this, I’m entitled to this, then it begins to take away the very foundation of what stewardship spirituality is rooted in, the love of God.”

Another perspective

Fr. Jirak asked Fr. Brungardt what he would tell the pioneers of stewardship. “One of the biggest things, I’d say, is we’re trying, us millennials, but we still need help. We need help mostly to truly engage this spirituality.”

He said many in that generation believe their lives are their own. “No one hates God. I’ve never met a person who hates Jesus. Everyone’s very on board with God. But then when the rubber starts to hit the road, it’s yeah, but it’s my life, it’s my time, and I love God how I want to love God.”

The millennial need a metanoia, Fr. Brundardt said, a change of mind to see things differently.

“We know that there are things that need to be done. We know that. We know that there’s a lot of time, talent, treasure to give, and we get it. But at the end of the day, we’re missing that, I think, in my unwise but nerdy analysis, we’re missing that that simple piece of everything’s been given, everything’s a gift.”

Bishop Kemme closed the panel discussion by giving a plug to the One Family Fully Alive in Christ! Capital Campaign and talking about his experience celebrating Mass this summer for the youth at the Totus Tuus camp. The camp, which has just been named Camp Kapaun, is one of the priorities of the campaign.

Hopeful for the future

“I found myself leaving that experience hopeful for the future. These young boys and girls, young men and women from fifth grade on up to high school, really represent an incredible blessing for us, and yet they have long way to go to be formed as disciples. They’re well on their way, though, and they’ll have their own journey, like we all have,” he said.

“I think that…among the many things that make our diocese so blessed and so unique, is something that we all need to really acknowledge and pray for. This is one way that we’re forming the next generation of faithful disciple stewards.”

The panel spoke from a stage on the north of the school gym. Samples of a variety of religious art submitted by 14 artists lined the east and west sides of the gym for viewing.