If you are the leader of a religious congregation of any denomination, you probably share what, in my experience, the one thing religious leaders like least about their vocation, talking about money.  I would like to present you with ideas that emphasize the importance of stewardship, usually defined as time, talent, and treasure. However, I have found that many religious institutions overlook the treasure part. It is relatively easy to think about asking people to give you their time and talent, but to ask for their treasure seems painful. 

My hope is that I can help you look at stewardship, and especially the fundraising part, in a new light. You will learn that giving people an opportunity to support your work, and that of the Church, Synagogue, Mosque, or Temple is really offering them a great gift. I will use the terms pastor and church, but you can adapt this to your own belief system. So, are you ready to dive into what may be unchartered waters for you? 

First, let’s talk about Stewardship in terms of time and talent. You will probably find, as most pastors have, that your parish has a small group of people who do it all—they may be liturgical ministers—singing in the choir, serving as lectors, and/or Eucharistic ministers in church and to the homebound and those in nursing homes. And then there will be a number of people who are good at organizing events, both social events and fundraising events. Still others serve in leadership roles on Pastoral Parish Councils, Finance Councils, or Stewardship Councils. Many times, these roles will overlap, and some will be involved in almost all aspects of parish life. But what about the rest of the parish? Are they content with attending Mass and going home, maybe not even attending a social hour after Mass? Or are they reluctant to serve because they don’t think they have any useful talent? Or, because they see the same people doing everything and are afraid if they volunteer for one thing, they will be expected to be like the overachievers in the parish, and do it all? Or perhaps they don’t feel welcome because they have never been asked.

So first, you need to determine what tasks and ministries you need volunteers to do. Some possible tasks in addition to the liturgical ministries named above might include:

• Hospitality ministers to welcome new parishioners

• Hospitality ministers to serve refreshments after Mass during social time

• Clean up crew, to assist your maintenance person(s)

• Environmental Stewardship Committee, who would be responsible for planning events such as Earth Day, Laudato Si events, or Saint Francis Day celebrations

• Liturgical Environmental Committee to focus on the liturgical environment—banners, altar cloths, and seasonal decorations

• Outdoor environmental helpers to plant pollinator gardens or other native plants in your community and your parish

• Social Justice Team to work on issues relating to Catholic Social Teaching, such as Stop Abortion, End the Death Penalty, Immigration Rights, and so forth.

• Community Involvement Team to have your parish represented in local or regional events, such as parades, fairs, or community organizing about local issues.

• Religious Education for children and youth

• Religious Education for adults

• Bible study leaders

• Book club leaders

• Office assistants to help with mailings, answering phones, etc.

• Diocesan representatives for Diocesan wide activities, such as a Vocations Committee

• Specific areas of concern in your parish—such as sign language interpreters, Spanish or other language interpreters, Black Catholics, etc.

• Other special needs such as food pantry volunteers, soup kitchen volunteers, or helpers with other community services you might have in your parish

Perhaps your list is long and you’re thinking, where do we find all these volunteers? The good news is the more volunteers you have, the more you can remove from your plate so you will have time and energy to complete your never-ending work. I assure you that finding volunteers is not as difficult as you might think. So, what are some ways to do this? If you have a Stewardship Committee, first enlist their help. You can also ask your Welcoming Committee to distribute a list of parish ministries and tasks to new members of your parish. Many times, new people are eager to get involved as a way to meet people, and often they bring valuable experience from their previous parishes. And, if you personally welcome new members through a letter, an announcement at Mass, or a phone call, you can also ask them about the talents, skills, and interests they have which might be helpful to the parish. In my book, The Pastor’s Guide to Stewardship and Philanthropy (you will find a great example of a welcome letter for new parishioners. Another great way to recruit volunteers is through an annual Ministry Fair. This is easy to plan and implement, often the Stewardship Committee will handle this, but if not, recruit someone to coordinate this project, so it doesn’t fall on your shoulders. You will often find that all you need to do is say, “I think we should do a Ministry Fair,” and you will find a volunteer immediately. Or perhaps one of your Councils will raise the issue and suggest someone to volunteer to take charge of it. Some key things to plan your ministry fair are included in my book as well.

As important as volunteer recruitment is, it is not the only thing about stewardship that is important. People like to be appreciated, even if they don’t expect any rewards for what they are doing. But a thank you now and then goes a long way. Some pastors invite all the volunteers to a dinner or luncheon. One pastor I know took all the volunteers out to dinner once a year, usually during Volunteer Appreciation month, which is in April. Another invited all volunteers to a catered dinner at the rectory. This meant a lot to the volunteers. I recall a number of people who attended saying, “I’ve been a member of this parish forty years and have never been inside the rectory.”  I have mentioned the Stewardship Committee several times in this blog, and I provide more about this in my book as well, and I address the one part of stewardship which is often the bane of many pastors. Money. So, I hope you pick up the book, and watch for my webinar on this topic, coming soon.