Archdiocese of Milwaukee Development Director Dan Kowalsky speaks during the REBOOT! Stewardship Workshop on Tuesday, July 30, at Mary Mother of the Church Pastoral Center, St. Francis. Kowalsky discussed prayer and how parishes can be conduits to parishioners having stronger prayer lives. (Submitted photo)

In looking to evolve the scope and parameters of parish stewardship, Archdiocese of Milwaukee Stewardship Director Cindy Lukowitz is assembling a new set of resources to aid parishes.

The kickoff to the REBOOT! series was held Tuesday, July 30, at Mary Mother of the Church Pastoral Center in St. Francis when Lukowitz and her committee welcomed almost 150 parish stewardship personnel, including staff, volunteers and close to a dozen priests.

“I wanted them to come and be inspired, but then work on their plans for stewardship at their parish,” Lukowitz said. “It’s one thing to come and be inspired. That’s nice. What are you going to do? How are you going to change? How are you going to take what you learned today and have something change at your parish?”

Fr. Tim Kitzke of the Family of Five Parishes on Milwaukee’s East Side and the rector of the Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist was the initial speaker and made the point that parishes aren’t fundraisers, but rather they’re here to build God’s kingdom.

The three main points of the half-day workshop were prayer, welcoming and building community, an evolution beyond the traditional stewardship pillars of time, talent and treasure.

“Stewardship is parish vitality,” Lukowitz said. “Stewardship is what makes a parish have life, and makes it grow and makes it vibrant. It’s how people are giving of themselves in their prayer, in their volunteering, in their finances and in the community that’s built, and how much they’re fed with their faith that makes the difference between a dying parish and a growing parish.”

Archdiocese of Milwaukee Development Director Dan Kowalsky spoke about prayer — how important it is, how parishes can be conduits to stronger prayer lives for their parishes, and how prayer has changed his life.

To portray welcoming, attendees were shown a series of videos that were recorded by Lukowitz and her committee members, showing examples of what a welcoming parish looks like and how it appears when a parish isn’t as welcoming.

“Everybody in the room can decide and agree that welcoming needs to be done but it’s our parishioners that need to be educated and make the changes that we need.”

Margie Mandli, the Administrative and Business Assistant at St. Anne in Kenosha, shared some of the initiatives that have helped her parish build community and become more united as a parish.

The main speakers were also recorded giving synopses of their talks in the video studio at the Pastoral Center, part of the resources that Lukowitz will soon have available to parish staff.

Following the talks, there was table time, where attendees worked through and discussed a set of questions designed to narrow their focus on improvements and changes that can be made.

Among the questions were: What’s one thing you can change in the area of welcoming? Who needs to be involved to make that change? What are your obstacles and how are you going to overcome them? What’s your timeline? How are you going to measure success?

In 2023, Lukowitz hosted what she believes is the first archdiocesan stewardship workshop since 2017.

The REBOOT! series of resources will eventually include helpful tips and ideas on items such as the offertory, time and talent, volunteering, and welcoming new members.

“I wanted this to be inaugural event so I could announce it to everyone that this is coming,” Lukowitz said.

She said the resources will make parish-level stewardship people more self-sufficient and more intentional with what they are doing.

“With so many people (that attended), there’s obviously a need,” Lukowitz said.