Have you registered for the 2017 International Catholic Stewardship Conference which will be held September 18-20 at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Atlanta? Check it out at catholicstewardship.com. I hope you can join us.

On Monday, September 18, during the ICSC conference in Atlanta, I will offer some reflections on the Spirituality of Stewardship based on the American bishops’ pastoral letter, Stewardship: A Disciple’s Response, and the teaching of the late Archbishop Thomas J. Murphy. Here is a brief summary of this talk, Six Lessons on Life and Leadership That Stewardship Teaches.

2017 marks the 25th anniversary of the pastoral letter,
Stewardship: A Disciple’s Response.

GP Catholic Services’ Dan Conway has made stewardship his life’s work.
He offers his six top takeaways from this lifechanging letter.

1. Stewardship is a lifelong responsibility.
Because God never stops giving, a Christian steward is constantly being invited (and challenged) toreceive, cherish, share, and return-with-increase the fruits of God’s abundant generosity.

2. Stewardship deepens spirtuality.
It challenges us to let go of any false notions that we are somehow in control of our lives, our skillsand our talents, or our materials possessions. We are not the authors of our own existence. We arenot the owners of our spiritual and materials gifts. We are stewards (caretakes or custodians) of whatbelongs entirely to God.

3. Stewardship is a source of grace.
When we respond to God’s goodness by growing in gratitude, responsibility, and generosity, we canexperience the difference that stewardship makes in our daily lives.

4. Stewardship is not a program.
It is a way of life. It requires nourishment and practice. A Christian steward is one who makesa conscious decision to remain open to God’s grace and to respond from the heart to whateveropportunities and challenges may come.

5. Stewardship is humbling.
Archbishop Thomas J. Murphy was the principal architect of the pastoral letter on stewardship. Whenhe was diagnosed with leukemia, he used the principles of stewardship to acknowledge that evencancer can be seen as a gift from God. He recognized the workings of a good and gracious God inthe skill and dedication of his medical team and the love and support he received from his family,friends, and community.

6. Stewardship raises awareness.
It helps us recognize that both ordinary experiences of daily living and the most profound moments ofour life and death are gifts from God to be cherished and shared with others.

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