History of Stewardship

Today marks four years of the formal commissioning of the Office of Stewardship and Development. As a way of celebrating and observing this milepost, an effort is being made to capture some history and create a space where the journey of Stewardship in Guyana can be shared. Hence the beginning of this blog.

Three key words described the approach taken by Bishop Francis Alleyne, OSB as he began his tenure as Bishop of Georgetown; involvement, participation and ownership. After spending about a year or so familiarising himself with the people and places of the Diocese, the Bishop wasted no time as he began to explore ideas with the faithful. “I invite you, the parishioners, the people of God, to dream and plan with me. I want you to imagine; if you were given the management of the Church what would be the areas of concern that would come to mind and what would you recommend by adding, correcting or improving on what exists? In reflecting and dreaming together I would like us all to start with the same premise: that we love our Church and we want what is best for it”. This was his first challenge in a year-long journey of inviting the faithful to “examine our expectations and notions of our Church and being members”. His intention? “I would like to see greater involvement, participation and ownership of the Church by you, the laity, the people of God”.

The Bishop explained that the Church invites lay people to active participation not because it is “unable to do otherwise and therefore is now calling on the faithful to fill needs. This is how a healthy Church community should be living. We are truly Church when all members are participating fully and employing their gifts and ability in the service of the Kingdom and there is no satisfactory alternative to this”.
In order to communicate and sustain this challenge, he started an “Office of Stewardship and Development” in October 2007. At the simple ceremony on 21st April, 2008, His Lordship entrusted to Mr. Rock Beharry, who was appointed director of Stewardship & Development, a plaque with a scripture quotation emblazoned, “As each one has received a gift, use it to serve one another as good stewards of God’s varied grace” (1 Pt. 4: 10) to symbolically open this new office. This plaque, His Lordship said, will be placed in the Office of Stewardship and become a sign of its mandate. The Bishop expressed hope that the quote will also be a symbol for all as each person embraces this call and therefore bring about a fresh dynamism and spirituality to the way the people of God in the Diocese of Georgetown live as Catholic Christians. His Lordship also introduced members of the Diocesan Stewardship Council who were appointed to advise and help the Office of Stewardship to introduce, animate and support Stewardship in Guyana. They were Dionne Lewis, Raymond Shaw, Kent Vincent, David Mortley, Paul Braam, Maria Wilkinson, Surendranauth ‘Rudy’ Persaud, Rhonda Nelson, Stacy Singh, Tracey Gomes, Xandra Persaud and Martha Ali.

A priest from Trinidad & Tobago, Fr. Michael Cockburn, who came for the formal launching of Stewardship in April 2008, emphasized that Stewardship in not something new, or some gimmick to get Catholics to give money, rather it is a way of Christian living that is grounded in the Bible. Stewardship is a spirituality that consists of an ever deepening of our relationship with God. As a way of life it removes self-centeredness, selfishness, competitiveness, jealousy etc. and persons become more generous and committed.
In launching Stewardship Bishop Alleyne placed emphasis on a Pastoral Letter on Stewardship issued by the Bishops of the Antilles Episcopal Conference in September 2003. The full title of the Pastoral is Stewardship and the Revitalization of Parish Life in the Caribbean http://www.aecrc.org/joomla/index.php?option=com_content&view=section&id…. The Letter calls for Stewardship to be the means for the ‘Revitalization of parish life in the Caribbean’ as the document is called. It challenges Catholics in the Caribbean to be Christian Stewards and to use every opportunity for conversion, for a change of heart (metanoia) and to become partners with God in the parish community.
The Diocesan Council has also used the Pastoral Letter issued by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, called Stewardship: A Disciple’s Response http://www.usccb.org/stewardship/ in its ministry as a valuable resource.