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> The Cross of St. Brigid > History of St. Brigid Parish > Our Philosophy of Ministry > Stewardship The Cross of St. Brigid  St. Brigid, the patron saint of our
church community, is always depicted
with a cross. Renowned for her charitable acts of love, St. Brigid once
nursed a pagan chieftain back to health. Legend has it that while he
slept, she made a cross of rushes, which were used as floor coverings in
5th century Ireland. On waking, the chieftain asked her to explain the
cross. St. Brigid told him the story of Calvary and of our Lord Jesus'
undying love. Deeply moved, the man converted to Christianity and
regained his health supposedly due to St. Brigid prayers and ministry.
The making of that cross is a lovely, centuries old, custom in Ireland, where it is still practiced today. Made of rushes, straw, or wood, St. Brigid Cross is placed in homes each year on the eve of her feast day, February 1st. Our parish community traditionally commemorates St. Brigid Feast Day with a parish-wide celebration on the weekend closest to February 1. History of St. Brigid Parish St. Brigid Parish began on September 13, 1972, with Fr. Peter McKenna appointed as the Pastor of the parish, known only as St. Luke Parish Annex. In October, a house was purchased on Stable St. to be used as a rectory. The first Mass was celebrated at John Marshall High School. 175 people attended. On November 1, 1972, St. Brigid parish was officially established by Archbishop Francis J. Furey. It was the 155th parish of the Archdiocese and had an official membership of 120 families on Christmas Eve 1972. The first weekly Sunday Mass was celebrated at Methodist Mission Home. Masses were held weekly there until May 1976 when the Community Worship Center was completed. From the very beginning, Fr. McKenna had a vision of what the parish could be, with the involvement and ownership by the people and an emphasis on service rather than structures. The first parishioners built a strong formation on stewardship. They emphasized the importance of tithing as a way of supporting the parish rather than depending on fund-raisers. Since our beginning, St. Brigid has been a parish whose mission is one of TOTAL Stewardship. In March 1985, Fr. McKenna announced his decision to leave St. Brigid because of the newly installed policy of the Archdiocese limiting tenure to twelve years. In response, the people, through the Parish Council, expressed their desire for a new form of leadership, already a reality for many of them. Father McKenna left in June 1985, and the appointment of the new Pastor, Fr. Tom Flanagan, was announced. At the same time, Fr. Tom was appointed Director of the Archdiocesan Charismatic Renewal Center. It was also announced that St. Brigid would model a new form of parish leadership. In October 1985, St. Brigid was designated as the first parish to officially be a Collaborative Ministries parish. Fr. Tom Flanagan was installed as Pastor and Sr. Dorothea O'Meara, Pastoral Administrator. In the spring of 1987, the Pastoral Team presented the need for a Vision Committee to develop a process whereby all members of the parish could begin visioning for the future. The Vision Committee was formally initiated by the Parish Council in May 1987 and the process was completed by June 1988 with a parish wide assembly. In August 1987, Sr. Dorothea announced that she would be leaving St. Brigid in January 1988 to accept a position on the faculty at Assumption Seminary. In June 1988, Jeannette Easley joined the community of St. Brigid as Pastoral Administrator. She brought to us her expertise and background in Business Administration, Adult Faith Formation and Pastoral Ministry. Before joining us, Jeannette was a lay volunteer missionary in South America for five years. Both Father Tom Flanagan and Jeannette Easley continued the vision and reality of Collaborative Ministry and the calling forth of active, mature participation from all members of our faith community. On January 7, 1990, Fr. Tom was conferred the Monsignor Award for his faithful, dedicated service. On January 5, 1998, Monsignor Tom was appointed Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of San Antonio. On February 16, 1998, Archbishop Flores ordained Monsignor Tom Bishop. His last day as Pastor of St. Brigid Catholic Community was May 31, 1998. On June 1, 1998, Fr. Leslie A. Vance came to St. Brigid as our new Pastor. He was ordained in 1976 and served as pastor at several parishes prior to coming to St. Brigid. Fr. Les also serves as a judge on the Appellate Court for the Dioceses in Texas. Ground breaking for the new sanctuary took place on Saturday, August 26, 2000, after the 5:00 p.m. Mass. Auxiliary Bishop Zurek presided at the Mass and Archbishop Flores presided at the Ground Breaking. On August 25, 2002, we participated in the dedication of our new sanctuary with a special Mass at 3:00 p.m. This was a momentous occasion for us. On Sunday, October 5, 2003, we celebrate our 31st Anniversary as a parish. We have grown to 1650 households, with many varied ministries and services that serve the needs of our parishioners and the larger community in which we live. Our commitment to Stewardship is still the foundation of all we undertake as a faith community. St. Brigid Parish is beginning a massive evangelization project to reach out to the many unchurched and uncatechized Catholics who live in our parish and in our community. Our Philosophy of Ministry Because God has made a covenant with us to be pilgrim people in this community, and so that our living of the Gospel may be continually renewed and deepened, we come together in our worship and community gatherings to celebrate. We recognize every person in the community, each with specific needs and unique gifts, and we enable one another to answer God's call. We also recognize that in so doing we are stewards of God's creation and are called to share our time, talents and treasures. It is through creating a prayerful, healing, reconciling atmosphere and the sharing of ourselves in love, that we experience God's creative Spirit among us. It binds us into God's family, encourages each of us to become Church, and impels us to proclaim the Gospel to all the world! The local Church: A community in Jesus, continuing His saving presence throughout time. Our philosophy and practice is one of collaboration. We believe that we are all called to share in the building up of the Kingdom of God. We build up God's kingdom by offering our uniqueness and giftedness and working in unison. St. Brigid Parish pastoral leadership is based on the approach called Collaborative Ministries, or Team Ministry. The Pastoral Team shares in the responsibility and accountability of the life of the parish. They, in their Christian vocation, are called to serve, to enable, and to empower the parishioners. The expression of the Pastoral Team and the entire Parish Community is one of worship and ministry. This expression is rooted in Jesus' commandments to us all: to love God, love our neighbors and to love ourselves. We are a community that believes we are in co-union with God and each other. We are all "stewards" of the affairs of God on this earth, gifted with the resources necessary to draw ourselves and others closer to Him. Stewardship is a basic and consistent life-style that we as Christians are called to. It is a life-style of caring and sharing. Our Parish Community is composed of people with varied gifts and resources. Each individual affects the growth and life of the community in direct proportion to the manner that he/she responds to this responsibility and privilege. Our community does not happen automatically. It must be created by people actively participating in it. Our goal is to be of service to all within our parish family. Everyone is a vital part of the Body! Stewardship Stewardship of time, talent, and treasure is another major thread that runs through our parish life. It defines the whole philosophy of the parish toward its financial responsibilities and pastoral needs. Tithing, rather than fundraising, is a parish policy and our major source of income. Parishioners are asked to pledge a percentage of their money, time and talent to support the work of the Parish. "Each of you, as a good manager of God's gifts, shall use for the good of others the special gifts you have received from God." (1Peter 4:10) Stewardship is using, with integrity and faithfulness, the gifts which God has given. As Christians, we are to pray daily, attend worship regularly, give sacrificially and serve faithfully. STEWARDSHIP OF TIME Frequently we make the statement "We don't have time." Yet, we have as much time as anyone else. Furthermore, the time we have is not ours. God gives it to us. With all the time we have, we can give a portion of it back to God each week. This can be in addition to the time we spend at the weekend liturgy. As to what you do with the time you set aside, we leave it up to you. However, we do suggest that you include your own ongoing religious education and faith development as well as ministry to others. STEWARDSHIP OF TALENT As it is for time, so it is for talent. Each one of us has many talents given to us freely by God. Likewise, we are called to use these for the furthering of God's kingdom. Furthermore, our talents are needed in the community. Only when we use them will they be appreciated. As to how you can share your talents, see our "Contact Persons List" on Page 60 and call the Pastoral Team Member for the ministries in which you would like to participate in. STEWARDSHIP OF TREASURE "Give an account of your stewardship." (Luke16:2) As it is for time and talent, so it is for our treasure. That also comes from God. Indeed, we are blessed in many ways. Since we will be asked to give an account of our stewardship, now is a good time to get our books in order. Our goal is tithing, and many families and individuals practice it. We do not have any fund-raising events other than the weekly offering. What that means is, we never pass the basket twice and never on Holy Days. What you give is your decision. However, by tithing one tenth of your income to God, you'll find the other nine tenths will go much further. To make sure we practice what we preach, the parish gives ten percent of every collection to our OUTREACH PROGRAM. The Outreach Program assists those in need both within our parish family and the larger community. It is also worth considering that the parish that does not cost you anything is not worth attending. A distinction must be made here. We do not give to the church to pay off a debt or a building fund, but to God, to help further His Mission on Earth. The tithe can seem an impossible goal to new or maturing Christians. In that case, we are asked to become percentage givers. We are to commit to God a set percentage of our income, making that commitment a top priority in our spending. Jesus talked five times as much about money as He did about prayer. Until we have given God control of our finances and our time, we have not really surrendered to Him control of our lives. Our attitude toward money will either be a major barrier between us and God, or a means of growing in grace. Remember: Keeping the tithe, as the Bible teaches, is essentially a matter of the heart and not the wallet! |
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