Once a month, each parish in the linkage will highlight some of the stewardship activities that are happening in their parish.

 St. Mary, Eldora
Happenings in June! Summer starts off with the Linkage Golf Tournament, hosted by St. Mary at Pine Lake Golf and CC in Eldora on June 30. Keep your eyes open for upcoming ways to donate your time or talent to this event.

With school out, summertime is a wonderful opportunity to donate to the local food pantry. The food pantry currently serves on average 110 people in the surrounding areas of Steamboat Rock, New Providence, Union, and Eldora. Items most in need are canned fruit, canned tuna or chicken, and paper products, such as toilet paper. St. Mary has a basket located in the North foyer with a variety of items needed.

Again, if you haven’t filled out your Time and Talent form, please consider doing so. You can find the link on our linkage website or a paper form in the north foyer.

St. Mark, Iowa Falls
June is a busy month with many opportunities to serve and grow! St. Mark parishioners deliver Meals on Wheels in June. It is a coordinated effort of the Social Justice Committee and the Knights of Columbus. We could always use a few more volunteers to take one of the three daily routes. It takes less than an hour and you can choose the day that works you.

Looking for an opportunity to grow in your faith? Join us for The Wild Goose video/discussion series as we discover a deeper relationship with the Holy Spirit. No need to register, just come to the sessions on Mondays at 6:30 in the parish hall.

There is still time to fill out a St. Mark Time and Talent Survey!  Forms are available in the office or in the back of the church. They may be dropped off at the office or put in the collection basket! Thanks and God Bless!

St. Patrick, Hampton
We had a great response for our Silent Auction, and we are planning to do one again next year. Thanks to all that helped make this a wonderful event!

We recently began our Time and Talent Survey – there are still a lot of potential opportunities at St. Patrick’s! Please take time to fill out the survey if you have not already, and return it to the parish office. Thank you to those that have filled them out!

We are considering having a garage sale during the Highway 3 Corridor Sales on August 29-31. Please keep us in mind for your donations of good, new, and slightly used items. In the fall, we are hoping to have a Stewardship Fair. More information to come.

St. Mary, Ackley
Stewardship is generally associated with being a “steward” of the land. A farmer cares for his land as if it is part of the family. Back in the 80’s, losing the family farm was the ultimate blow. How does that fit with being a “steward” of our faith? Just as the farmer strives to make his farm a little better every year, we should strive to make our relationship with God better every day. Often stewardship is understood as using our time, talent, and treasure in caring for the church. These acts of giving are important, but the critical part is why we are giving. We do not need to earn our way to heaven. Christ did that for us by dying on the cross for our sins. Stewardship is giving of our time, talent, and treasure in gratitude for Christ’ sacrifice.

A big THANK YOU goes out to St. Mary’s members who helped in any way with the wine and cheese events or Lenten meals after stations. That includes those who prepared the meals and those who ate the meals. During June we will conduct a time and talent survey. Please take time to consider any areas that interest you. If you see a need and it is not on the survey, write it in.