Initially, our parish appeal was integrated with the Archdiocese of Indianapolis "Christ Our Hope" appeal each November. In February 2016, we separated the two stewardship appeals. The Saint Simon the Apostle Annual Stewardship Renewal, “Shared Blessings,” took place each February, separate from the archdiocese. 

In the planning stages, a diverse group of parish members came together, asking the question, “What does stewardship mean to our parish?” Why do we have an appeal each year? When Jesus describes stewardship, He is helping us to understand that our lives, our talents, abilities, and our financial resources are all given to us by God in trust. God trusts that we will care for these gifts, but Jesus also tells us that God’s way of caring is by sharing. The "Shared Blessings" renewal slogan articulates what stewardship means to our parish community.

Since starting our Shared Blessings Stewardship renewal in 2016, the Saint Simon community prayerfully discerned how each of us uses our time, talent, and treasure as disciples of Christ. We have shared our gifts with the parish, our ministries, and the community in many amazing ways. In November 2019, with the support of Fr. Doug and our Stewardship Core Team, the parish launched our new Shared Blessings stewardship initiative. 

In the past parish renewals, we tried to discern what talents we wanted to use in building the kingdom of God, how we used our time in a relationship with God, and how we used our financial resources that He has generously provided. Discerning this can be a changeling process, especially in a three-week renewal once a year. This is why we have decided to separate our appeal into three different times of the year, focusing on the foundation of stewardship of hospitality, prayer, formation, and service.

• In December, we focus on the first aspect of our TIME and how we use our time in developing our friendship with Christ (prayer and formation). 
• Early February, we focus on our TREASURE and prayerfully discern how we can use the financial resources God has provided to us and how we can help our parish financially. We ask each parish family to fill out and return a financial renewal card.
• Finally, in August, we look at our TALENTS (hospitality, prayer, formation, service) and ask ourselves what else we are feeling called to do at Saint Simon and what new ministries we can get involved in over the next year. 

Peter teaches us that the gifts we receive from God; we are called to serve one another (Peter 4:10). God provides everything we have, and as disciples of Christ, how do we use our gifts to serve one another? The foundation fo stewardship is rooted in our hospitality, prayer, spiritual formation, and service to one another. During each of our renewals (Shared Blessing of our Time, our Talents, and our Treasure), we ask our parish community to prayerfully discern how they can use those gifts in our community.

Any additional questions concerning our Shared Blessings Renewals can be directed to Eric Marasco, Stewardship Director, at 317.826.6000.  

 
As each one has received a gift, use it to serve one another - Peter 4:10