Stewardship of Time: Our Summer

July is the heart of our hot, languid summers. It’s vacation time for many, time to rev up the grill or skip out to the beach. Even our reading material changes with the heat and light: that heavy biography becomes an easy-on-the beach thriller. So it’s probably true that our approach to stewardship changes with the seasons as well – it changes but doesn’t disappear.
 
In fact, July can be a wonderful time to reexamine our own attitude towards our faith and our stewardship commitments. Sunday Mass and an occasional weekday liturgy are just as important as ever. But we are freer in the summer, especially if your family has other commitments during the regular school year, to try different Mass times, visit a neighboring parish or shrine or even experience a new church for Mass while out of town on vacation. Get out of “your” pew and experience the Church from a different perspective.
 
But remember that summer offers our parish no respite from our bills. Our parish needs our consistent commitment of support. Consider electronic giving. Signing up for this safe, efficient means of contributing not only ensures that we continue to give dependably during the summer, it helps a parish to budget throughout the year. For Christian stewards, there’s no summer “vacation” from nurturing their spiritual lives. But there are plenty of opportunities to explore prayer, giving, and parish involvement in new ways.