Stewardship is a total way of life. It is based on the biblical view of God as Creator and ourselves as his servants, accountable to Him for our use (stewardship) of the gifts of time, talent and treasure that He gives us for a limited number of years. Few of us have a century. Stewardship starts with a need that no one who accepts the gospel can dispute: the personal need for each one of us to give. Unless we are returning to the Lord – the giver of all our gifts – a truly grateful share of our time, talent and treasure, our gratitude for these gifts is a matter of words only.

The fundamental motive for giving is gratitude. Giving out of gratitude means giving God the first portion of the gifts He entrusts to us. Deciding to do so is a faith decision. We are trusting that what is left over for us after we have given God "His" share will be enough. .People who decide to give God the first portion of their treasure, time and talent find that what at first seemed difficult soon becomes easy. What is "leftover" for them is enough often more than enough. Few practices deepen faith more effectively than this decision to really put God first in our lives.

Here at St. Paul the Apostle parish, we ask that all of our families utilizing our educational ministries of St. Paul the Apostle Religious Education, St. Paul the Apostle School and Assumption High School make a stewardship covenant with their parish. This covenant points out that our regular attendance at Mass on Sundays and Holy Days of Obligation with our family in our Parish Church is important. It points out that our involvement in the parish and school utilizing our time and talent is important. It points out that our sharing financially with our parish is important. We encourage you to work toward the Biblical tithe of 5% of your income to your parish, 2% of your income to our educational ministries, and 1% of your income to the Annual Diocesan Appeal. We started this Stewardship Covenant about eleven years ago here at St. Paul the Apostle. Our parishioners have tried to practice the Stewardship Way of Life by volunteering in so many ways to help our parish and community. Some families have put a renewed focus on what is important in their life and have found that their faith life has truly influenced their family life. Others have discovered that God cannot be outdone in generosity. God always provides. When we begin to trust in God, great things can happen in our family life.

When we started our push on Stewardship, our parish likewise took the message of Stewardship to heart. We began to tithe our parish envelope income in order to share with our parish charities. When the church was having financial difficulties, we decided to share with the Lord. God has over abundantly blessed our parish. We had to do it in stages, but now our tithe has reached the 8% level and our parish charities of Churches United CARELink, St. Paul’s Works, Embracing Our Future, and the St. Paul Charity Fund have benefited witih $100,000.00 from our parish tithing this past year. We are one of the few parishes that do not have diocesan collections, as our St. Paul Charity Fund covers these collections from parish tithing.

Six years ago, we made it possible for our families who truly live a Stewardship Way of Life to have no tuition charges in all of our educational ministries including Religious Education, St. Paul the Apostle School and Assumption High School through our Stewardship Covenant Scholarships. These scholarships award the families who truly try to live the Stewardship way of Life. During these 6 years, these scholarships have amounted to over $1,250,000.00 in tuition expenses.

Check out the application for Stewardship Covenant Scholarships in today’s bulletin, and see how easy it is to have no tuition just for living the Stewardship Way of Life.

Submitted by
Rev. Michael Spiekermeier

PRAYER SHAWL MINISTRY-

DO YOU KNIT? DO YOU CROCHET? DO YOU PRAY?
Let’s meet and talk about how to make a prayer shawl to share with shut-ins, loved one’s and those in the hospital.

If you would like to join the ministry and aren’t a knitter-we’ll help you get started. Come to a meeting on Sunday, February 19th at 3:00PM in the Gathering Space.

Call Judi Droll at 322-3665 or Pat McCoy at 355-8289.

Ministry Schedule

The current Ministry Schedule expires the weekend of February 25/26. If you are an Altar Server, Lector, Usher or Extraordinary Minister of the Eucharist at our week-end Masses and you are in need of a schedule change, please call your Ministry Leader as soon as possible. The deadline for changes is Friday, February 10.

USHERS NEEDED-
Ushers are a very important part of the Liturgy. If you would like to become an usher or if you have questions about being an usher, please contact John Jacobsen at 563-322-9566 or jacobsen27@msn.com.

* This is a great way for High School Students to get service hours.

LENTEN STUDY OPPORTUNITY
A Biblical Walk Through the Mass

Registration after Masses today February 4/5 and February 11/12
Come check out the materials used for the study.

If you’ve ever wondered why we say what we say and do what
we do during the Liturgy, this is the study for you! You will go deep into the Scriptural roots of the Mass, and see the beauty and riches unfold before your eyes like never before. This study is based on the new translation of the Mass.

5-week study
Starts week of February 26
Cost-$20

There will be a 5-week Lenten study offered starting the week of February 26. This study includes a book and a study guide- cost $20. The study consists of home study, group discussion, and viewing a DVD lecture.

You can participate with an existing study group that you belong to, assemble your own
group, or join the existing Monday morning (9:30 AM) or evening group (6:30 PM) in
Denning Hall.

For information contact Rosie Megraw at 322-3768 or e-mail megrawr@gmail.

The Christian Experience Weekend (CEW) at St. Paul’s is a time to come together in our parish to strengthen our relationship with God and share our faith as a community.

Is God calling you? Registrations are at the entrances of the Church. For more information, please call Julie Delaney at 468-8571 or Stacy Hanser at 344-9879.

Women’s Weekend - Feb. 24, 25 & 26
Men’s Weekend - March 9, 10 & 11