Catholic Cluster Churches, Guildford

	As disciples we are called to be good stewards of all we have been given to God.
	Stewardship is 'a disciple's response'.
	As Christian stewards, we receive God’s gifts gratefully, cultivate them responsibly, share themlovingly in justice with others, and return them with increase to the Lord.
	Stewardship is not an end in itself, but a means of evangelisation.
	We are about discerning how we can become more effective disciples of the Lord and what we need to do so that the Gospel can be more powerfully proclaimed.

After the summer break our Stewardship Formation session resumed on Wednesday 9th September.

During the session we briefly reviewed the journey taken in the first seven sessions.

We learned a little about the Pastoral Letter of the US Bishops - Stewardship: A Disciples Response.
We reflected on how we could live out our ‘Gratitude to God’
We discussed the many ‘Attributes of a Steward’ and were able to list many that can be identified within our communities, concentrating on four main areas:

We reflected on ‘What we are Grateful for’ and we took time to think about and proclaim our own many skills and talents, skills and talents that we know we can use for the benefit of others. We recognised that using those talents is the best possible way of expressing our gratitude.
We recognised that Time is also a Gift from God, and that how we use our time indicates what our priorities are: do we waste our time or use it wisely?
We enjoyed presentations on the ‘The Gift of Creation’ from some of the course participants; we reflected especially on our response to environmental issues, to those we encounter who have disabilities, and to political measures that devalue human life.
While discussing our ‘Dependence on God’ we thought about:

What does God want me to do with all the gifts I have been given?
How can I be more generous in sharing myself and my possession with others?
What can I give up for the sake of simplicity and charity?
How does it feel to realise my dependence on God?
How can I respond in gratitude for God’s presence?
What gets in the way of me depending on God?

In the final two sessions we will start to consider what the outcomes of Stewardship might look like in our parishes, and define plans to bring a greater understanding of Stewardship life to more people in our Parish communities.

In a recent Pastoral Letter, Bishop Kieran stated that ‘as a Church/Society, we have lost our way’. We aim to explore this statement and discuss potential remedies.

We also want to encourage the very many members of our communities who already play some role to give witness about their involvement.

There is always a need for renewal, whether at community level or on a personal level, and we will be asking ‘what might be the signs of renewal?’ and ‘how can Stewardship bring that about?’

Ultimately we hope to develop a plan through which we all might understand better how to live our lives in gratitude for all God’s gifts.