Well before I could even spell Stewardship, I lived it, through the example of my parents. At Saint Justin we had the annual “Fun Day,” and at a very young age we were required to volunteer at a booth, to help raise money for the parish, including the school.
The weekend of October 10 my parish, Saint Mary of the Immaculate Conception, hosted its annual Country Fair. This is a Los Gatos tradition, with rides, entertainment, and LOTS of good food. Doug and I have worked the Country Fair for most of the past 20+ years.
Aristotle said “The whole is greater than the sum of its parts.” Today we would call that synergy. There is great synergy exhibited at our Country Fair. Countless hours are devoted to wplanning and prep; there are over 700 volunteer shift spots. The hall is in constant use for food, games, crafts.
This is also stewardship. Stewardship is “tending, taking care.” The Country Fair is a perfect example of stewardship:
We tend to our friendships. We have a solid group of women, led by two of us, who show up every year to work the Italian Sausage Sandwich booth. We work hard, laugh, drink wine, and catch up. Now our daughters come and work the booth with us, and some grandbabies show up to bring us joy. Fathers and sons work the grill.
We tend to our village. We visit with people of all ages, nurturing the network, giving thanks for our extended family of faith.
We tend to our parish needs. Of course the Country Fair makes some money, which is used to strengthen parish ministry, including our school.
AND…the community is tending to ME. I am fed by this hearty and meaningful tradition.
Each week at the end of Mass, after celebrating the ineffable gift of Jesus in the Eucharist, we are sent forth to BE the body of Christ in the world, to tend our gifts, and give back in myriad ways.
In God all things are possible. We achieve the ultimate synergy when celebrating our faith, through actions, in communion with others.
Next year we will do our small part in support of the Saint Mary Country Fair, in a communal act of stewardship.
By Mary Quilici Aumack
Mary Aumack is the Executive Director of the Catholic Community Foundation of Santa Clara County.