A society of stewardship was formed on August 14, 2014 for the primary purposes of:

• creating greater awareness of God’s gift of nature at our parish
• becoming better stewards of our beautiful Parish complex
• engaging our parishioners and community

Gardening, landscaping, and campus improvement are all part of our plans. Safety of the children in the area is the most important. All who come to St. Joseph to visit, play, learn, pray, or attend a function are automatically members of the Society. We ask for your time and talents to keep the campus safe, inviting, and a gathering place for our community.

The Society tries to meet once a month, usually at 10:00 a.m. on the third Saturday of the month, subject to Father’s availability. All are welcome to attend. Attendance at meetings is not required to participate in activities, but we need many more helpers.

Ministry opportunities during the year might include:

Donation of time:  (Community hours available)

• Picking up branches around the grounds as needed
• Spring and fall cleanup
• Provide ideas for drainage improvement, provide know how for creating retaining walls, improving drainage, regrading and leveling of play areas
• Clean out gutters in the spring and fall
• Maintain the ballfield in the off season
• Tightening bolts on playground equipment
• Watering plants and weeding
• Setting up of rain barrels in the spring, including cutting of downspouts for diverters
• Patching of sidewalks, stairs, and statues

Donation of materials:

Society is in need of topsoil, mulch, gravel, swing set wear pads, short, safe, kid friendly fencing for the butterfly garden, concrete blocks, soaker hoses, heavy duty hose cart with hose, branch chipper/leaf shredder, outdoor waste receptacles, and a retaining wall for the school oasis.

Also need removal of tree in front of school, trimming high broken branches, and stump grinding.

Donation of funds:

The Society strives not to draw existing funds from the Parish. From plants to signs to engineering studies, roofs and lighting, everything has a cost. Donations are gratefully accepted. Please direct your check to St. Joseph Parish, including a note or mentioning St. Fiacre Society on the memo line.

Plans

The society’s plans include getting a professional assessment of the buildings and grounds, redoing the planted areas around the school and Church, fixing the grading and drainage on the campus, acquisition of new signage for campus and church, putting in a meditation garden with Stations of the Cross. This winter, we will be planning and prioritizing some shorter term projects like planting and lighting around the Church sign, continuation of other planting and bush removal efforts around the campus, the installation of rain barrels in the spring, grading of the play areas, improving of drainage around the school, fundraising ideas, and much more. Please join us. Meeting dates will be posted in the Church bulletin.

Stewardship prayer

Dearest Lord, All that we have is a gift from you. Help us to be good caretakers of all you have entrusted to us. Let us offer our gifts of time, talent, and possessions to you to reflect our love for you and our neighbors. Infuse us with the willingness to give of ourselves, as you have given yourself to us.