It is the wise and responsible use of the special gifts God has entrusted to each of us. It is believing that God has created each one of us with unique abilities and attributes - including personalities, interests, motivations, life experiences, talents and skills, hopes and dreams - which make us who we are. We are one of a kind creation of God with unique contributions to make in this world.

Our lives have real meaning only when we use our gifts in accordance with God's will. As we grow in stewardship, we grow in our relationship with God. We grow in our ability to hear and accept God's call and to let our life be guided by God's will, not our own desires and impulses.

In short, put God at the center of your life. We are provided with many opportunities each day to be good stewards. We just need to be aware of the choices we make and the significance of our decisions. No gift is greater than time, and yet, nothing is so easy to waste. Contrary to our cultural norms, good stewardship of time doesn't mean being busy all the time. Time spent in prayer, nurturing relationships with our family and friends or just enjoying the beauty of the world around us is time well spent. In fact, taking "time out" to nourish ourselves spiritually can be the best thing we can do to deepen our relationship with God.

St. Raphael Church offers a variety of opportunities to share the gifts we have been given. Liturgical Ministries, Music Ministries, Education and Faith Formation, Community Life and Outreach Ministries … provide ways you can work to make our parish a true community of faith and vibrant source of service to the larger community. There are also administrative committees and councils; Finance Council, Stewardship Committee and the Development Committee are other ways of sharing your time and talent within the Saint Raphael Parish Community.

The Sunday collection each week goes to the support of our Parish. The second collection of the first Sunday of each month is for the support of our parish school. Five times a year there is a 5th Sunday in the month; on those Sundays, a collection is taken for the parish St. Vincent de Paul Society. The US Bishops have designated special collections for programs outside the parish boundaries. These collections are announced in the bulletin.

Each year the Parish is assessed a certain amount for the support of the Archdiocesan Ministries and services to the aged, youth, families and the disadvantaged in our parishes throughout the Archdiocese. The goal for 2004 is $94,700. We are fortunate that we have been ale to reach our goal. On behalf of Father Paul and the entire administration - a generous Thank You! If you have pledged your support, please continue your commitment of monthly payments, as we are counting on your total gifts toward reaching our goal.