In these modern secular, economic times, there is pressure on our families for their time, talent, and treasure. It is difficult for parents to find a good balance between the practice of their faith, religious education, earning a living and extracurricular activities. Without full participation, some of our families and their children miss this fulfilling religious experience. As our children and families drift away from the community, they limit their knowledge and capacity to contribute without involvement in the practice of their faith while they reside in the secular community. What they learn at our parish through faith formation bolsters their confidence and strengthens their commitment to service. Hence, a broader stewardship experience at Saint Mary's Church is important for families and children.
To satisfy our need to be Christ-like, stewardship includes awareness, giving of time, talent, energy, and treasure, and community outreach. For example, our seventh and eighth grade students, in preparation for Confirmation, perform and report on their service project activities, The Corporal and Spiritual Works of Mercy, each year. Youth Ministry participants continue their service work in high school. Our Youth Ministry and CCD Program offer catechesis, community service, and related activities to about two hundred Berwick area Catholic children. Our families contribute to community in countless ways. As one example, a Catholic organization that practices community outreach is the Knights of Columbus, Council 3301, 1416 West Front Street, Berwick, PA, 18603, (Lodge Number: 570-752-4000).
We ask all our children to express charity to demonstrate God’s love for us and our love for others through our giving practices. Together we attempt to achieve a balance against the secular world by creating an attitude of inclusion and sharing, thus offsetting the entitlement attitude. This approach includes outreach to our community that is a witness to our faith and that symbolizes the attitude and attention given to members of the Christian community in the first century.
Our intent is to teach families and children the joys of giving their time, talent and treasure, and for them to achieve a greater awareness of what an adult Catholic contributes to the community. The CCD Program wants to help our children understand and recognize the talents that God has given them in the way of gifts and instill in them that what they give back to the community is their gift to God. This fundamental premise was essential to the Church since the first century. The Church grew based on a giving and sharing mentality; it was open to all, without waste of valuable resources, including their own bodies. As an example, in eighth grade we focus on chastity and the role it plays in Christian formation. Part of Christian formation includes conservation and green practices, along with demonstratomg strong ethics and a moral consciousness, thus ensuring a thoughtful student response to climate change along with an awareness of public service, and a commitment to contribute toward demonstrating stewardship. Stewardship requires that each generation and our students recommit themselves to this practice. From the beginning, God said his creation was good and that MAN should be a good steward, hence we must practice what we preach. The CCD program promotes these practices.