Stewardship Minutes

Stewardship Talk
Virginia Donnal
April 23, 2006

Hello, I am Virginia Donnal. I am a junior at Princess Anne High School and have attended St. Nicholas since I was 4. For almost 13 years now, my two brothers, my sister and I have sat between my parents on the front row. . My parents are family is the reason I am here giving this talk. Since I was a young girl, they stressed the importance of being an active member of this the faith community. My mother got me involved in my early ministries. She believed that through helping others, my siblings and I would grow in our own faith. We began to go over to M E Cox Center, a day care for the elderly. This was my first experience with ministry. I invited friends along, and we formed a group, The Funshine Kids. For five years we visited the elderly, and we learned to appreciate and interact with them. My brothers got me involved in my next ministry, Altar Serving. AS a younger sister, I wanted to do anything they did and this led me straight to the ministry. In fourth grade I became an altar server. Now I am one of the oldest servers and act as a lead server, training the newest 4th graders. I know how special it is to be able to serve the priest directly and play an important role in mass. I really enjoy passing that on. While still an Altar Server, I wanted to be more involved so I followed my mother into the Children’s Liturgy of the Word ministry. Jesus, when he blesses the children in Matthew’s gospel, tells his disciples to have faith like a child. Through teaching the children of St. Nicholas, I have truly grown in my faith. As I teach them I also learn from them about trust and faith in our awesome God. Two years ago I became a lector. I enjoy proclaiming the Word of God to the congregation. I hope that by sharing my talent in lectoring, I am helping others hear God’s message. This past fall I had the opportunity to not only participate on the Antioch retreat, I lead it. On the retreat I shared with my peers that God constantly tries to draw us closer, and that we must all try to listen to his constant knocking. I feel that God calls me to help others on their faith journeys. I was a member of the Antioch team again this spring. I led talk groups and shared my thoughts while trying to help others with their own doubts and troubles. Stewardship is sharing of time, talent, and treasure. I believe that God has given me the gift of teaching. I have learned from the elderly at ME Cox and brought friends to join the Funshine Kids. I teach Children’s Liturgy of the Word and teach young altar servers. I teach by proclaiming the Word as a lector, and I have taught my peers through Antioch. Please think how you can share your own God given gifts with those around you. I know that by being an active steward at St. Nicholas, I have grown in my faith. I will be in the commons after Mass to answer any questions.