Another example of the triumph of the market mentality

What a difference fifty or sixty years makes

·         Stewardship:  in the late 1950’s and through the 1960’s

o   Emphasis was on being a steward of what God had given to you, not what you had earned

§  everything one had was a gift from God

§  this included one’s job and one’s earnings

o   A tithe or offering was a return to God, an obligation to be fulfilled

o   The focus was not to “fund” anything, it was on an individual’s  responsibility

o   it was an offering of one’s first fruits to God, an act of thanksgiving

o   The focus begins and ends looking at God

·         Pledge:  Diocesan Support Appeal as well as parish commitments– Late 1990’s to present

o   “. . . we make a difference in the lives of thousands of our brothers and sisters in faith. . . By sharing our gifts. . .”

§  The understanding of “gifts” here is different than in the earlier time period

·         one sense is “haves versus the have-nots”

·         another and probably stronger understanding is as “income”

§  Therefore, the focus shifts away from stewardship of one’s gifts and becomes a redistribution to others

§  Focus is not on a return to God, focus is on what your income can do, i.e. your income will not be wasted

o   “The financial resources generated by the DSA provide current operational funding for our Church’s educational, vocational, multicultural, and housing ministries. . .”

§  a “consumerist” focus develops

§  the effect is to show what your money “buys”

o   The focus begins looking at you and ends looking at goods and services purchased