NORTH CHARLESTON—The eleventh annual Regional Stewardship Day Conference will be held from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. April 28 at the Embassy Suites Airport Convention Center, 5055 International Blvd.
The event is sponsored by the Dioceses of Charlotte, Charleston, Raleigh, Savannah, and the
Archdiocese of Atlanta, as a source of new life for stewardship efforts all over the southeast.
The conference will begin with a spiritual message from keynote speaker Father Daniel J. Mahan and close with Mass.
Father Mahan is the executive director of the O’Meara Ferguson Center for Catholic Stewardship at Marian University in Indianapolis. He is an internationally known speaker on the topic of stewardship, having presented workshops and retreats to parishes and dioceses throughout the United States, Canada, Europe, Australia, the Philippines, and China.
Father Mahan is also the author of “More than Silver or Gold: Homilies of a Stewardship Priest.”
In addition to his talk, six breakout sessions will take place on a range of topics.
Representatives from St. Mary Magdalene Church in Newnan, Ga., will share their stewardship journey from their humble beginnings to their current successes. The presentation will provide a blueprint on how to grow stewardship efforts in parishes, according to organizers.
Two other featured breakout sessions will be presented by members of churches in the Diocese of Charleston.
Father Teofilo Trujillo, pastor of St. Mary Magdalene Church in Simpsonville, will speak on the topic of “Stewardship in Hispanic Culture.”
Father Trujillo was ordained in 1989 in Garzon, Colombia, South America. He has served in South Carolina for the past 10 years.
Hispanics make up the fastest growing population in the church in the southeast, according to census reports. More than half of the parishes in the region have at least one Spanish Mass each weekend.
Father Trujillo will give sessions in English and Spanish.
One of the best ways to educate parishioners about the various stewardship time and talent opportunities is through a ministry fair. Patricia Swoope, of St. Anne Church in Rock Hill, will share her parish’s experiences on how to plan and execute a successful stewardship fair.
Assisted by members of St. Anne’s Stewardship Committee, Swoope and her team will describe some of the best practices and creative ideas to make the fair engaging, informative and fun.
For those people who have promoted stewardship for several years and are looking for new ideas to keep the message fresh, Jim Kelley, director of Development in the Diocese of Charlotte, will offer ways to “Keep Stewardship Alive.”
Hospitality is one of the characteristics of a stewardship parish. Margo Truett, pastoral associate at St. Anne Church in Columbus, Ga., will share strategies from welcoming the new parishioner to maintaining an on-going effort.
One of the more established ways to engage parishioners in the life of the church is to help them discern and develop their strengths. The Gallop Organization has a proven method for doing just that, and Deacon Bill Hampton from St. Matthew Church in Tyrone, Ga., will share his experience of “Growing an Engaged Church.”
It is the hope of conference planners that participants will return to their own parishes invigorated with a renewed emphasis on living and promoting stewardship, and filled with ideas for bringing the stewardship message home.
Registration is $40 in advance or $50 at the door. Hospitality and early registration will be April 27 from 6-10 p.m. at Embassy Suites.
For more information or to receive a registration brochure, contact Carrie Mummert at (843) 958-2172 or cmummert@catholic-doc.org.