Twelve Wicker Baskets: Recent Episodes
Steier Group
In the Gospel, Jesus fed 5,000 with only five loaves and two fish. After the crowd was satisfied, there were 12 wicker baskets left over. God provides the abundance. In each episode of this podcast, we will explore, with pastoral leaders and development professionals, all the many ways God meets the spiritual and temporal needs of our parish communities, our Catholic schools and the diocesan church. And not only meets those needs but provides in abundance.
This month, Twelve Wicker Baskets sits down with David Kimbell, Chief Financial Officer of the Diocese of Pensacola-Tallahassee, for an inside look at how diocesan leadership approaches growth, governance and stewardship. Serving a rapidly expanding mission diocese in Northwest Florida, Kimbell shares how strong financial systems, transparency and thoughtful guardrails actually fuel, rather than restrict, evangelization. We explore the relationship between finance and development, how parishes can partner well with the diocese, and why healthy processes are essential for sustainable growth.
The conversation goes beyond budgets and building projects to examine the deeper theological vision behind Catholic stewardship. Drawing on his work with the University of Notre Dame Eucharistic Culture Project, Kimbell reflects on church property as “built theology,” the importance of mission-driven storytelling in fundraising and the irreplaceable role of authentic pastoral leadership. From practical approval processes to generational vision, this episode offers diocesan and parish leaders a compelling framework for aligning financial discipline with the Church’s ultimate mission: bringing people into communion with Christ.
Guest: David Kimbell
Title: Chief Financial Officer, Diocese of Pensacola-Tallahassee
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It's Catholic Schools Week, and host Christopher Beaudet discusses the renewal of Catholic education through strong mission-driven leadership and thoughtful fundraising with Kimberly Begg. Co-author of The Catholic School Playbook, Begg expresses that while some schools are closing due to declining enrollment, others are flourishing because they place mission first and integrate faithful Catholic identity with practical leadership and administration. Emphasizing that successful schools view fundraising not as a distraction from education, but as an essential way of inviting others to participate in the Church’s mission of forming young people for heaven and for human flourishing, Begg notes, “All good fundraising…is learning how to partner with people in a shared goal.”
Begg reframes financial development as relationship-building rooted in gratitude, transparency and shared vision. She stresses starting small, communicating clearly with parents and communities about real needs, and gradually building confidence and trust that make larger, long-term efforts like capital campaigns possible. Fundraising must be ongoing and personal rather than purely transactional.
To download a free copy of The Catholic School Playbook, simply visit www.catholicschoolplaybook.com
Guest: Kimberly Begg
Title: Co-author, The Catholic School Playbook
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In this episode of Twelve Wicker Baskets, host Christopher Beaudet welcomes Audrey Kintzi, vice president emerita for advancement and executive director of the M.A. in Philanthropy and Development program at St. Mary's University of Minnesota. The conversation explores the art and spirituality of fundraising, emphasizing that true development work is rooted in relationship, shared values and the joy of giving. Audrey Kintzi shares her journey from drama major to fundraising expert, recounting formative experiences and lessons from her mentor, Hank Rosso, who taught that “Fundraising is the gentle art of teaching people the joy of giving.” The episode delves into how philanthropy, especially in faith-based settings, is not about transactional requests but about inviting others into meaningful engagement with a mission. She advocates for replacing the word “fundraising” with “invitation,” explaining, “We are inviting people into our organization... and ultimately, we invite them to prayerfully consider a gift.” Closing with reflections on the joy and blessing of giving, and the transformative impact of nurturing relationships and shared purpose in philanthropy, this is an episode you wont want to miss!
Guest: Audrey Kintzi
Title: Vice President, Emerita for Advancement and Executive Director of the M.A. in Philanthropy and Development Program, Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota
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This special Thanksgiving edition of Twelve Wicker Baskets features voices from across the Steier Group expressing gratitude for the partnerships and communities we've served in campaigns. Opening with a reading of the first Thanksgiving Proclamation by President George Washington, host Christopher Beaudet sets the tone for the following expressions of gratitude. Team members share heartfelt thanks for the opportunity to work with parishes, schools, and volunteers, highlighting meaningful campaigns, personal growth, and the deep sense of community and faith encountered in their work. With a message of appreciation for all partners and listeners, this episode emphasizes the transformative impact of stewardship. Happy Thanksgiving!
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Katherine Coolidge from the Catherine of Siena Institute enjoys a conversation on Twelve Wicker Baskets on the importance of intentional discipleship and stewardship in parish communities. Katherine shares her experience in parish ministry and her work with the Institute, highlighting programs like Ananias Training and the Called and Gifted Discernment Process. These initiatives help parishioners identify and share their spiritual gifts, fostering a culture where generosity and mission are rooted in a personal relationship with God. She emphasizes that stewardship should move beyond transactional giving, encouraging parish leaders to inspire deeper engagement through prayerful discernment, storytelling, and communal responsibility. As Katherine explains, “For us to be able to take care of that, we have to cast a broader and deeper vision for our people and call them into a deeper relationship with Jesus. Because it’s when they’re walking with Jesus that they can begin to grasp John Paul II’s vision…ultimately we are called to bear fruit and it’s not just taking care of those things that are closest to us, but it’s also being there for the sake of the world.”
Katherine also addresses practical challenges in fundraising and parish leadership, advocating for transparency and a clear sense of mission to build trust and support. Sharing examples of parishes that have successfully cultivated stewardship, she includes stories of sacrificial giving and community impact. Storytelling is highlighted as a powerful tool for connecting parishioners to the transformative work of the church.
Guest: Katherine Coolidge
Title: Director, Parish and Diocesan Services, Catherine of Siena Institute
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Father James Burns, President of St. Mary's University of Minnesota, discusses the mission of Catholic higher education, emphasizing the integration of psychology and theology in priestly formation and the importance of donor relationships in sustaining Catholic educational institutions. He highlights the centrality of faith, human formation, and virtue development to the university’s mission, and how storytelling and authentic engagement inspire philanthropic support. Fr. Burns advocates for a faithful engagement with Church teachings while encouraging sincere inquiry and dialogue grounded in the truth of Christ as the way, the truth and the life.
Addressing contemporary challenges with students and society, Fr. Burns underscores the inseparability of fundraising from the mission of Catholic education, stating, "The ultimate purpose of fundraising is to support student flourishing, virtue formation, and the mission of the Church." He emphasizes the importance of authentic, ongoing relationships with donors, deep listening, trust-building and understanding individual motivations, which foster a cycle of human flourishing for both giver and recipient.
Guest: Fr. James Burns
Title: President, St. Mary's University of Minnesota
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Dr. Eric Westby, Director of the Institute of Catholic Theology in Phoenix, Arizona, and longtime catechist, discusses the essential connection between catechesis and evangelization in the latest episode of Twelve Wicker Baskets. Dr. Westby traces his own journey into catechetics, inspired by mentors and shaped by decades of parish ministry and academic study. He explains the importance of the kerygma—the initial proclamation of the Gospel—as the foundation for catechesis, which deepens conversion and provides roots for discipleship. In today’s post-Christian culture, he emphasizes, the Church must adapt its methods and reclaim a catechumenal model that begins with encounter, fosters conversion and forms missionary disciples.
Highlighting how catechesis and evangelization relate to stewardship and fundraising, Dr. Westby notes that authentic generosity flows from a genuine encounter with Christ and a clear sense of mission. Drawing from both parish life and his role with seminarian formation, he suggests that when people understand themselves as missionary disciples, their financial support follows naturally as a joyful response. The episode underscores the need for diocesan and parish leaders to align fundraising efforts with the mission of evangelization, forming communities where stewardship is understood not as obligation but as a fruit of discipleship.
Guest: Dr. Eric Westby
Title: Director, Institute of Catholic Theology
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In this episode of Twelve Wicker Baskets, Dr. Dan Ryan, President of Dowling Catholic High School in West Des Moines, Iowa, discusses the transformative power of servant leadership in Catholic education and fundraising. With over two decades of experience in Catholic school leadership, Dr. Ryan has served in roles ranging from special education teacher to diocesan superintendent. Since 2017, he has led Dowling Catholic through strategic enrollment growth, expanded diversity initiatives and a visionary capital campaign. His leadership is rooted in collaboration, humility and a commitment to forming students not just academically but spiritually and communally.
A devoted Catholic often described as a servant leader himself, Dr. Ryan emphasizes that leadership grounded in mission and trust can inspire both institutional change and generous support. “It’s really not a lack of funds; it’s a lack of vision or storytelling,” he explains, reflecting on how authentic relationships and student-centered narratives drive meaningful donor engagement. With servant leadership woven into Dowling’s mission and graduate profile, Ryan champions a model of education that forms confident, Christ-centered leaders prepared to serve the common good.
Guest: Dr. Dan Ryan
Title: President, Dowling Catholic High School
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Fr. Matt Lowry shares his journey as chaplain of the Holy Trinity Newman Center at Northern Arizona University, where he has led explosive growth both spiritually and financially. He reflects on how his ministry—rooted in prayer, relationship and trust in God’s providence—has transformed from humble beginnings into a dynamic mission field for evangelization. Fr. Matt emphasizes the deep spiritual hunger among college students for beauty, tradition, and authentic encounter, and how presence, personal invitation and incarnational ministry have been key to meeting them where they are. His approach has included both bold vision and day-to-day faithfulness, whether skateboarding across campus or guiding retreats steeped in silence and sacrament.
Fr. Matt also dives into the spiritual side of fundraising, drawing a parallel between inviting someone into relationship with Jesus and inviting them to financially support the mission—it’s the same act of trust and courage. Through stories of sacrificial donors and unexpected blessings, he illustrates how faith and action together fuel mission. Now overseeing a capital campaign and serving as Episcopal Vicar of the North, Fr. Matt remains grounded through daily prayer, mentorship and gratitude. His message is clear: fundraising, like evangelization, begins with mission and continues through relationship, perseverance and a deep trust in God’s timing.
To learn more about the Newman Center’s mission or to support it, visit www.catholicjacks.org.
Guest: Fr. Matt Lowry
Title: Chaplain, Holy Trinity Newman Center
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Twelve Wicker Baskets welcomes Bishop James Golka of the Diocese of Colorado Springs for a rich and thoughtful conversation on gratitude, stewardship and Eucharistic living. Bishop Golka reflects on psalm 116 and the act of taking up the cup of salvation and calling upon the name of the Lord as a gesture of profound worship and thanksgiving—an invitation to live a life rooted in the Eucharist.
Bishop Golka shares insights from his own pastoral journey and spiritual formation, shaped by years of service in the Diocese of Grand Island, Nebraska, where he was ordained a priest in 1994. Raised in a large Catholic family as one of ten siblings, he developed an early appreciation for stewardship as gratitude, and a deep sense of vocation. His background in parish ministry, combined with his early experience as pastor of a large parish and school in Seward, Nebraska, his reflections on how the Eucharist calls each person to offer his or her life in service, gratitude and stewardship.
Appointed Bishop of Colorado Springs by Pope Francis in 2021, Bishop Golka speaks with warmth and humility about the joys and challenges of episcopal ministry. He explores how living Eucharistically transforms one’s perspective on time, resources and relationships—shaping not just personal spirituality, but the communal life of the Church. Throughout the conversation, Bishop Golka’s love for Christ and the Church shines through, inviting listeners into a deeper response to God's abundant grace.
Further resources:
Stewardship: A Disciple’s Response by United States Conference of Catholic Bishops
Seeking God: The Way of St. Benedict by Esther de Waal
The Catholic Vision for Leading Like Jesus by Owen Phelps
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As the Church entered a celebration of the Jubilee of Teenagers this week, Twelve Wicker Baskets takes time with Mark Hart, the Chief Innovation Officer at Life Teen International, a Catholic youth ministry active in nearly 2,000 parishes worldwide. Mark shares his personal journey from a "typical" Catholic upbringing to a life-changing encounter with Christ during high school, thanks to the Life Teen movement. That experience sparked his lifelong passion for walking with teens, helping them discover the joy of faith through real relationships, vibrant community and Scripture that speaks to their lives today.
Throughout the conversation, Mark emphasizes that reaching today's teens takes more than just good intentions—it takes authenticity, creativity, and a deep trust in God's work. He points out that many teens today are overwhelmed by loneliness and anxiety, and what they really need is connection, not just another class or program. "We need to waste time with teenagers," he says. "Sit with them, enter into their world, and when the time is right, that’s when the real conversations about faith can happen." Mark challenges parishes to rethink what success looks like, lead with joy, and above all, prioritize the salvation of souls over simply maintaining the status quo.
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An accomplished educator and musician hailing from his hometown of St. John’s, Newfoundland, Stephen Handrigan delves into the topic of openness to the journey set before each of us in life and in fundraising. With degrees in music and education, Stephen’s career spans leadership in Catholic and independent schools. This experience led him to the role that he currently holds as president and head of school at St. Bonaventure’s College in St. John’s. An independent, K-12 Jesuit Catholic school, St. Bon’s was reopened in 1999 to offer again Catholic education in the province after church scandals left the archdiocese bankrupt and unable to maintain the schools.
Through an open discussion, Stephen explores the impact of transparency and trust-building, as well as a rebrand marketing effort that helped locals see St. Bonaventure’s College in a new light. The success of the “What did you learn today?” marketing effort lent way to a new capital campaign effort that played on the theme, now recognizable throughout the community. The What did you give today? Capital Campaign has provided a new learning experience for the St. John’s, Newfoundland, community. As uncomfortable as it is to make the ask, or even receive the ask, for a sacrificial gift can be, it has uncovered the truth that there is no “they” when it comes to supporting our own communities; we are “they” and it is only through educating our own communities about the need that an school, church or nonprofit organization will successfully support a major fundraising goal. Indeed, “sneaky Jesus”, as Stephen affectionately points out, will guide the journey when we are open to laying our plans, needs, resources and communities into the hands of the Lord.
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Fr. Bill Gurnee, pastor of St. Joseph’s on Capitol Hill, shares his journey from his beginnings in New York and North Carolina to Washington, D.C., inspired by a pivotal question about life’s purpose. St. Joseph's on Capitol Hill has a rich history. Founded in 1868 by German immigrants, it is now a diverse community of 450 families, including many Congressional staffers and young professionals. St. Joseph’s offers daily Masses, marriage preparation, and a welcoming environment for all, from transient interns to high-profile politicians and others.
Fr. Gurnee emphasizes the importance of community, spiritual direction and evangelization, highlighting the role of married couples in faith formation. He reflects on the emotional impact of parishioners moving away and the impact of a community that is always in flux. Additionally, notes the upcoming installation of a new archbishop for the Archdiocese of Washington, which encompasses the US Capitol, stressing the need for pastoral sensitivity in leadership. Finally, he discusses the successes of the parish’s capital campaign. Goals for the campaign include supporting the renovation of the historic organ and the construction of a new parish hall.
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Luke attributes the Holy Spirit for planting on his heart from an early age the desire to do ministry. Growing up as an older sibling of eleven children, he learned leadership and responsibility early on. Led to a habit of daily prayer in college by FOCUS and the personal witness of a friend, Luke knew firsthand the importance of community, fraternal support, and individual invitation in coming to deeper discipleship. “Truth becomes transformation through relationship,” Luke said. God, revealed through his Son, who came among us in relationship is how we all come to know the truth.
Inferno, which its members call “an apostolate of friendship,” was started in 2017 with a group of men who got together for community and prayer. While it is largely a Colorado Springs ministry where it started, the fire has begun to spread. Inferno aims at empowering men to lead in evangelization and the battle for sainthood. Men often experience isolation, which is why Inferno is so focused on building friendship and honest, confidential fellowship while, at the same time, inviting others into the community. More information about Inferno or to make a donation in support of the ministry, visit www.infernomen.com.
Guest: Luke Vercollone
Title: Co-Founder, Inferno Men
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In this episode, Twelve Wicker Baskets host, Christopher Beaudet, shares a Christmas message of hope, allowing a story from a Civil War battlefield to be lesson for us all that Christmas is a joyful celebration of hope because it is about God coming to dwell among us; coming to dwell in our pain and suffering, in our fear and worry; coming to dwell with us in such a place as this. On behalf of everyone at the Steier Group, we wish you a very blessed and merry Christmas.
Guest: Christopher Beaudet
Title: President of Diocesan Engagement
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Leisa’s leadership in helping parish communities to “look at one another from the perspective of gift and abundance” allows parishes to experience an invitation to enter more deeply into the life of the community. “Everyone has something to give. And not only does everyone have something to give, but everyone needs to give.” Gratitude is a virtue, requiring us to foster, develop and practice the habit of being grateful. Leisa reminds us that the perfect place to bring stewardship to life is at the Eucharist, which itself means Thanksgiving. “In the celebration of the Mass, we celebrate Christ’s sacrifice. And we are called to be sacrificial people…we’re called to give without counting the cost.”
Leisa also shares in this episode about the central role of gratitude in the Archdiocese of Cincinnati’s pastoral plan, Beacons of Light. The plan has six guiding principles focused on renewing parishes to be vibrant communities. One of the principles is stewardship, which speaks of parishes as communities of grateful disciples. Leisa shares how Beacons of Light has already provided new life to parish communities across the archdiocese.
Guest: Leisa Anslinger
Title: Author, Coach & Leader in Parish Vitality and Leadership Development
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Steve Homiack advises pastors that, when it comes to addressing finances from the pulpit, “the best time to talk about money is when you’re not asking for it.” When people complain “all they do is talk about money,” it’s probably because talking about money from the pulpit is only done when people are asked to give it for a need; it’s always linked to an appeal. But the multitude of scriptural references and parables about money throughout the year provide opportunities to emphasize the spiritual connection between our treasure and our heart. In Steve’s role in the Archdiocese of Seattle, he seeks to serve and support parishes to embrace and live stewardship. “The strength of our diocese is the integrity of each and every one of these parishes,” Steve noted. Supporting parishes is always a challenge since each parish community is unique. And in the Archdiocese of Seattle, entirely new parish families have recently been created as part of the Partners in the Gospel strategic plan to renew the local Church in Western Washington.
Guest: Steve Homiack
Title: Director of Parish Support and Annual Campaigns, Archdiocese of Seattle
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A native of Ohio and a product of Catholic education, Colin Campbell knows very well the value and impact Catholic education has on a child, the character formation and critical thinking it instills, and the openness it creates to mystery and vocation in life. All Saints Catholic School, where Colin serves as President, partnered with the Steier Group to conduct a transformative campaign to allow the school to continue its charism of excellence in faith, character, academics and service well into the future.
All Saints, a three blue ribbon school in its 25 year history, is grounded in three immutable strategic anchors that define its community and mission. Of the first anchor, Colin states, “we are a Catholic school, not a private school that happens to be Catholic.” Second, the school is intentional about its size with no more than 20 students in each classroom. And the third strategic anchor is to lead students to discover and live their passion. “It is never easier and more fun to lead a place than a community that is really articulate in why they do what they do,” Colin said.
Being anchored also allows All Saints to be innovative without compromising the school’s central mission. Trends in Catholic education, like starting Catholic education in pre-school, or the renewed interest in a classical curriculum, or the many families who homeschool, all provide All Saints opportunities to incorporate aspects of the trends in such a way that what makes All Saints unique is preserved. Colin notes that his role as President gives him the vantage point to see the big picture and to think in terms of months and years. “When you put things in the Holy Spirit’s hands,” he said, “it tends to work!”
Guest: Colin Campbell
Title: President, All Saints Catholic School, Dallas TX
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With a history over 400 years, the religious sisters who belong to the Order of the Company of Mary Our Lady have a rich tradition of Catholic education inspired by the charism and vision of the community’s foundress, St. Jeanne de Lestonnac. St. Jeanne’s own familial and vocation experiences helped form her practical application of education in a time when education meant largely memorization of facts and was open only to boys.
St. Jeanne de Lestonnac school, of which Sister Ernestine Velarde, serves as President, carries on the universal mission of the religious order but in the practical context of California to educate students in dialogue with reality, which is to say to educate students to live practically in the circumstances and conditions of the world, to discern the needs around them and apply what they’ve learned in service to others, and to live in joyful witness to the faith. “We educate by our attitudes,” Sister Ernestine said. “We don’t see education just when we’re in front of the classroom, but also by how we respond to things.” Forming each student, not just for himself or herself, but for communal, social and global good is at the heart of authentic education in the tradition of St. Jeanne de Lestonnac. Personal development with socialization, freedom with responsibility, and personal autonomy with collaboration are the aims of the Company of Mary our Lady in educating the young.
Sister Ernestine’s leadership of St. Jeanne de Lestonnac’s capital campaign led to a beautiful new building for their upper school, which continues to grow, building on the long tradition of grade school education. The beauty of the building itself educates, Sister Ernestine noted, in that contemplating beauty draws us into mystery and makes us more human.
Guest: Sr. Ernestine Velarde, ODN
Title: President, Saint Jeanne de Lestonnac School, Temecula, CA
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Abriana Chilelli describes the beginning of Fire Foundation Denver as nothing short of providential. Just as Covid came on the scene, several parents of children with disabilities wrote in large numbers to the Archdiocese of Denver with the request for support to help them educate their children in Catholic schools, many of which were not prepared for special needs students. Soon, with Archbishop Aquila’s blessing, a group of mothers of special needs children organized to start Fire Foundation Denver, replicating Fire Foundation Kansas City where the model began. With a board in place, the foundation began fundraising and awarding grants right away. With success stories to share, the foundation grew in three years from granting $100,000 to three schools to granting $500,000 to fourteen schools.
Kyle Van Frank champions Catholic education, saying it has always been a vanguard for forming young people in a way that recognizes “dignity, truth, goodness in the child and to form them in very apt and appropriate settings. I think this is the next chapter for Catholic education across our country.”
The Church’s vision of the dignity of the human person orients the true nature of education. “It’s not for production, it’s not skills training, it’s not career preparation,” Abriana states, adding, “Education is the whole formation of the human person, for the human person himself, in order to see reality well, both naturally and supernaturally, and to come to understand the truth and the freedom of Jesus Christ himself, the Logos who created and ordered all things.” Kyle adds, “At the end of the day, the aim and purpose is to prepare our young children to be saints.” In this regard, kids with disabilities, who often live without malice, are great peacemakers and are a blessing to those around them. “All hearts are widened as a result of this work.”
Guests: Abriana Chilelli, Assistant Director of Catholic Education, Archdiocese of Portland in Oregon; Kyle Van Frank, Executive Director, Fire Foundation Denver
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After what he calls a “powerful, mystical experience” with the Blessed Virgin Mary, Robert “Bobby” Kloska’s life forever changed. The assurance he received that all would be well if he sought first the kingdom of God (Mt 6:33) has proven a calming guide through health struggles, disappointments, change of plans, and the various phases of his professional career.
As Chief Partnership Office at Notre Dame Federal Credit Union, he is tasked with advancing a nationwide Catholic financial ecosystem, building up the Church through a variety of financial services and sound, honest advice. While it’s easier to tear down and demolish people, institutions, or relationships, it’s harder but more rewarding to build. Building things that serve God and his people is the goal of Bobby’s personal and professional life, reminding us that persevering in building up what is good and beautiful, no matter if others seek to tear down, is all we’re called to do in faithfulness.
You can read Robert's blog - Side of the House - to see the remarkable photo from the grotto mentioned in the episode.
Guest: Robert Kloska
Title: Chief Partnership Officer, Notre Dame Federal Credit Union
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Michael Hoffman has years of financial services and diocesan development experience and, in this episode, draws on that experience to share important tips for any diocese considering a capital campaign. “We knew we needed to do something… nothing was not an option,” Michael said of the diocesan financial needs at his previous position as the Director of Stewardship for the Diocese of Davenport. Priest retirement and vocations support needed long-term funding, but the third leg of the stool was the parish share, allowing parishes to determine at the parochial level how their portion of campaign funds would be applied.
Knowing “generational giving” and cultural giving is also important to tailor appeals across a diocese to reflect the variety of ways people give that tend to track with their community and peers. Regular stewardship quips in the bulletin next to financial reporting can helps parishes see a rise in offertory income. Utilizing AI for ask strings, circling back to dormant donors, and several touches with donors throughout the year are yet more tips to foster ordinary giving and prepare a diocese for the extraordinary appeal of a campaign.
At the heart of diocesan development work and long-term planning for a campaign is the vital necessity of building trust and relationship with pastors and school principals. It’s critical, Michael states, that they know you’ve got their back. “Once that trust level is there, it’s amazing what can get accomplished.”
Guest: Michael Hoffman
Title: Director of Development & Stewardship, Diocese of St. Augustine
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“The Church is the hope of the world, and the local parish is the hope of the Church,” says Tom Corcoran, co-author of ChurchMoney, a book that is part of the Rebuilt series. Tom’s experience in helping his own parish to be a thriving, vibrant community of faith inspired him, along with his pastor, Father Michael White, to help other parish communities throughout the world to experience the same renewal. Tom encourages parishes to develop a model of ministry and to invite other into that vision. Younger generations are less inclined to donate money to institutions, Tom notes, and so parishes need to shift the paradigm from supporting the Church to supporting ministry and mission. “People give to vision, and people give to people.” A renewed sense of discipleship will result in a renewed sense of stewardship.
“The way back to financial health in parishes is to start connecting the dots between money and following Jesus.” Tom has a plan for how parishes can raise givers, rather than just raise money. Since “money is a spiritual issue,” Tom stresses that raising givers begins with prayer as step one. He also notes that people will learn about money either from the culture with its emphasis on spending and saving, or from Scripture, which prioritizes giving and generosity. Frequent preaching on how often money is presented in Scripture, then, is crucial to a sound formation of Christian stewards. Giving may cause us to sacrifice parts of our lifestyle, but handing over what is dear to us—making a sacrifice—actually begets cheerfulness and joy. This is the central message that parishes must embrace, pray about, reflect on, and implement… to be brought closer to God requires us to imitate his generosity and freedom.
Guest: Tom Corcoran
Title: Author, Speaker, and Evangelist
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After completing her M.B.A., Jennifer Baugh went through a soul-searching period while waiting to start a new consulting job, asking God to deepen her faith. She came to a new and profound realization of God’s love and the mission to share that love with others. Not long thereafter, Jennifer established Young Catholic Professionals (YCP), an apostolate that has grown exponentially, signaling that Catholic professionals in their 20s and 30s have a shared longing for encouragement and for a community to support excellence at work integrated into a life of discipleship.
Now with chapters in over 40 cities across the U.S., YCP is a network as much a community aimed at instilling an authentic Catholic identity equipped for apologetics in the public square, providing community to breakdown isolation and build strong friendships, and inspiring members to action in response to God’s call to serve. YCP seeks to foster an awareness of stewardship and generosity among members with inspiring accounts from mentors who have experienced the joy of giving of time, talent and treasure. This is of vital importance, particularly in the face of decreasing church giving among younger generations. “Authenticity is what young people are craving,” Jennifer noted, and giving cannot be simply transactional for the young but more engaging and impactful.
YCP has strategies to grow geographically but also in evangelistic efforts in the cities where chapters are already established. Looking to the future, YCP wants to offer members increasing opportunities for spiritual enrichment, professional advancement, and more intentional networking so that members can live the authentic, integrated life to which God has called them.
Guest: Jennifer Baugh
Title: Founder and Executive Director, Young Catholic Professionals
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Responsible for faith-based and secular non-profit markets at Innovest, Sarah brings to bear her rich experience of non-profit development, marketing, and business development along with her faith and sense of stewardship in managing clients’ investment portfolios. In this episode, Sarah explores how building a morally conscious investment portfolio is more than avoiding “sin stocks,” but requires a deeper due diligence to ensure funds are not applied to causes antithetical to the Gospel and the Church’s teaching on faith and morals. Maintaining value alignment is important so that support is not given to causes that harm authentic Christian discipleship or true communion.
“Our clients are always at the center of every decision we make,” Sarah explains, emphasizing that in managing clients’ investments, establishing client mission over shareholder interest is essential to maintain value alignment. Making investment decisions based on shareholder returns can be “a big problem and conflict of interest” in a fiduciary relationship. As a secular firm with Catholic values, Innovest manages $45 billion for retirement plans, for non-profit foundations, endowments, operating reserves, and retirement plans, and for high net-worth individuals. Sarah said that, in keeping with the vision of Innovest’s founders, “we believe that we are stewards of everyone we come in contact with, whether that’s clients, people in the community, even our employees…we very much have a stewardship culture.” In addition to stewarding clients’ investments, Innovest seeks to be stewards of its own resources by providing educational opportunities for the underserved, monthly volunteer opportunities for employees, and by donating 1% of revenue back to their clients to help their missions.
In Catholic investing, the USCCB’s investment guidelines serve as a starting point for morally responsible investing. Dioceses have an Investment Policy Statement (IPS) which includes language on how the IPS adheres to the USCCB guidelines and in what asset parameters investments can be made. Sarah stresses the importance of having a “Catholic ecosystem of resources” to help Catholic entities manage and invest funds in a manner truly harmonious with the Church’s mission. Vendors, banks, investment companies, development professionals, asset managers, etc. must all embrace the mission of the gospel. This ecosystem helps ensure morally responsible investments. For example, companies earn ESG (environmental, social and governance) scores depending on how well they fulfill their responsibility to the community in these sectors. A high ESG score gains more investors. But a secular perspective on ESG causes does not prescind from Catholic anthropology, which in turn means that companies’ ESG initiatives often do not advance authentic human flourishing, thereby compromising value alignment. A Catholic ecosystem will help mitigate poor investment decisions and help guide Catholic entities to make the best return on investment, advance the gospel, and bring authentic human freedom, joy, peace and flourishing to the world.
Guest: Sarah Newman
Title: Vice President, Innovest
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Lino Rulli, aka “The Catholic Guy” on Sirius XM Radio, came into a greater appreciation of his Catholic faith in college after experiencing a tragedy that prompted life’s big questions. A communications undergraduate major with a graduate theology degree, Rulli later discovered an opportunity to start a tv show at a local parish, which later was syndicated across the US and won Emmy awards. His broadcasting career on matters relating to the faith was born.
“My goal has not necessarily been to find new ways to advance the Church’s mission,” Rulli explains. He seeks, rather, to maintain broadcasting professional standards while being himself. That’s what builds relationship, which is the premise for good communication. Whether it’s social media, broadcasting or pastoral leadership, the Church’s ability to communicate requires the trust that relationship builds. Rulli points to Timothy Cardinal Dolan, the Archbishop of New York, as an example of a pastor who fosters relationships well. As the cardinal’s personal media advisor, Rulli shares his firsthand experience of how Cardinal Dolan helps build a bridge with Catholics and non-believers alike, a bridge that carries the gospel to wide audiences. “What are we afraid of? Is there someplace we’re not supposed to be proclaiming the gospel?” Rulli asks, warning, “the reason religion shrinks is religion keeps talking to itself.” Communicating is about telling your story and to tell it with honesty, vulnerability, and passion. Just as the Lord communicated with stories, and always based on relationship, so must Church tell the story to engage hearts and minds for mission.
Guest: Lino Rulli
Title: “The Catholic Guy” on Sirius XM Radio
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In this episode, Ian Rangel describes the history, mission, and impact of The Papal Foundation, the only charitable organization in the United States exclusively dedicated to fulfilling the requests of the Holy Father for the needs of the Church. The foundation aims at providing the resources to address capital, humanitarian and vocational needs throughout the developing world or, as Ian puts it, to serve “the underdogs of the Church.”
Begun in 1988 during the pontificate of St. John Paul II, the foundation, a separate 501(c)(3) organization, has provided over $200 million in response to requests for assistance from across the globe. A donor becomes a Steward of Saint Peter with a minimum contribution of $1 million in support of the foundation’s mission. Stewards of Saint Peter and their families are invited to make an annual pilgrimage to Rome, which includes an audience with the Holy Father, and are invited to support his Petrine ministry through prayer. Ian describes the support the foundation has given to the Center for Working Families in Quito, Ecuador to assist families in abject poverty learn skills and trades to provide them a better life. He also explains how the foundation’s aid to the Church in Poland helped them provide shelter and essentials for Ukrainian refugees. The foundation’s St. John Paul II scholarship fund provides priests, religious men and women, seminarians, and men and women in formation for religious life from the developing world to receive their education and formation at one of the fifteen pontifical universities in Rome.
Ian reflects, ”To walk in partnership and journey with our Stewards of Saint Peter, who in many ways have seen their own neighborhoods of the Church grow as they are supporting the work in a very generous way at levels that are just phenomenal, is just a humbling experience.”
Guest: Ian Rangel
Title: Vice President of Steward Development, The Papal Foundation
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Bishop Andrew Cozzens is the Bishop of the Diocese of Crookston and currently Chairman of the USCCB’s Committee on Evangelization and Catechesis, in virtue of which he is tasked by the bishops to spearhead the three-year National Eucharistic Revival. In this very theological episode, Bishop Cozzens explores how Christ’s gift of himself in the incarnation is perpetuated in his gift of self in the Eucharist. “The Eucharist is the heart of the Church, which means it is the heart of the disciple,” Bishop Cozzens explains. In the Eucharist, we receive “our greatest good,” namely Jesus himself, which inspires us to live as he lived. “How does Jesus live? Well, he gave himself away to us,” Bishop Cozzens states. “My response is, I need to give this back. I need to give myself back. And, of course, that’s what stewardship is. Stewardship is making a gift of my life.”
“Fewer people understand that the heart of the Eucharist is about receiving a gift and giving a gift,” the bishop noted, and it’s why the bishops are eager to lead the faithful into a deeper appreciation of this truth. All the sacrifices we make in our daily lives “become truly valuable as we unite them to Christ’s” in the Eucharist. The US bishops have noted a Eucharistic crisis in that many in our secular culture do not know they’ve been invited to the Banquet of the Lamb. Bishop Cozzens retraces the steps by which the US bishops came up with the plan for a Eucharistic National Revival, describes its structure and presents the aim of each of the revival’s three years. The National Eucharistic Congress scheduled for July 2024 in Indianapolis, is the first such congress in 83 years. By the revival, the bishops seek first to enflame Catholics’ Eucharistic faith so that, in turn, there starts a missionary fire – not a program – to burn away indifference, false idols, and selfishness in the heart. This will open the way to stewardship, generous giving and joy.
Guest: Bishop Andrew Cozzens
Title: Bishop of the Diocese of Crookston
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In this episode, Twelve Wicker Baskets shifts from the philanthropic focus of supporting the Church’s mission to the perspective of those who generate the resources for that support through entrepreneurial business ventures. David Niccolini, a husband, father, and innovating founder of four successful companies, shares his career journey from the perspective of faith, noting that entrepreneurial work is very creative and, when done in cooperation with grace, is a co-creative act with how God creates.
Each of us has a God-given purpose and God delights in us when we live and work fulfilling that purpose. We are most alive and are most creative when our work flows from our overall purpose, avoiding a false separation between our life of faith and our daily work lives. Faithful entrepreneurship prioritizes relationship over transaction and operates from a mindset of abundance over scarcity. Innovation in business requires a step into the unknown in a way that parallels how the prophets were invited by God to step out of the familiar and venture into a mission that required them to rely on his grace and call moment to moment. All of us can relate to this experience when we encounter the Lord, whose invitation to discipleship requires a trusting act of faith. What God, the Original Entrepreneur, wants to do with each of us is innovative. Each of us is needed; each of us has a unique purpose, but all of us must rely on God’s promise, mercy and love to fulfill it.
Guest: David Niccolini
Title: Entrepreneur
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Matt Vuorela became Chief Executive Officer of the Steier Group in August 2023. In this episode, Matt shares his perspective that many of the discouraging trends we see in the Catholic Church in the United States today are actually opportunities to be bold and creative. From his seat at the head of the firm, he also speaks to other trends in the fundraising/development sector that point to some very positive news.
The bishops of the United States have recognized that the Church is in a crisis. Less than half of Catholics in the United States understand or believe in the Eucharist, Mass attendance is at an all-time low, and many young people are disaffiliating from the Church. This crisis of faith is at the heart of what could be called a crisis of stewardship in the Church. Giving to religious charities decreases with each passing generation. This means that the Church’s strongest supporters tend to be an older demographic. From a development point of view, this is a great challenge. “My call to everyone is not to accept these trends,” Matt said. “Be bold in your thinking. If you think you’re going to fail, you’re probably right. There is nothing that says we have to accept these trends. There is nothing that says we only have to survive, rather than thrive."
There are other, more regionalized, trends, however, that give great hope. Steier Group campaigns for the Church in southern states are in support of rapid growth, new parishes, and strong ministries. Matt notes as well that our campaigns for many religious communities with younger vocations have garnered support. School and Newman Center campaigns have done exceptionally well. In fact, major donors want to get behind campaigns to support the faith for high school and college students. “I would contend there is no investment a major donor—or any donor—can make in the future of the Catholic Church, the future of our faith, than at the Newman Center or Catholic high school level. Why? Because this is where you either keep young Catholics invested in the faith or you lose them.”
Another key opportunity in the face of these trends is to incorporate planned giving to help people make a lasting impact in support of the Church’s mission. Matt advises that an emphasis on planned giving “needs to be a more central part of every development office’s efforts now and into the future. It is absolutely critical that the office must stay on the radar of those who will give the wealth away, but also to develop relationships with the younger generations who will be inheriting it.”
Guest: Matt Vuorela
Title: Chief Executive Officer, The Steier Group
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In this episode, Jamie Crane describes the impact someone can have when stewardship is understood, embraced and lived as part of one’s Christian discipleship. Looking to Bishop James Golka, Bishop of Colorado Springs, as a prime example of someone endowed with a stewardship heart, Jamie recounts the ways his pastoral leadership has impacted the life of the diocese and each parish community therein. Emphasizing a Eucharist-focused prayer life, exercising hospitality in a spirit of gratitude, and highlighting the stewardship aspects of time and talent—and not just treasure—are all ways the bishop has encouraged pastors and laity to come to appreciate their Christian life as stewards of God’s abundant gifts.
Jamie also serves on the board for the International Catholic Stewardship Council (ICSC); a leadership role that has provided her a way to give back to professional colleagues, who are also fellow disciples of the Lord, for all the support and encouragement she has received from the association. The annual conference, coming up this year in Orlando, is an opportunity to pray, reflect, think, engage, and meet others who are committed to advancing a deep understanding of stewardship as constitutive of discipleship. This year’s gathering will reflect the USCCB’s Eucharistic Revival and will feature a plenary presentation by Bishop Golka on the Eucharist as a School of Stewardship.
Guest: Jamie Crane
Title: Director of Stewardship & Development, Diocese of Colorado Springs
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With both of his grandfathers as Nazarene ministers, Mark Petersen grew up knowing the gospel and the work of ministry. He also grew up inspired by the example of his parents who determined to freeze the assets from their business upon reaching a certain point of success, dedicating any future growth from the business to a philanthropic foundation they established to support noble causes and make a difference in the world. After seminary, Mark and his wife brought their young family to Colombia as evangelical missionaries, but even at that early stage of his faith journey, Mark was drawn to “the mysteries of Catholicism and the beauty of the faith.” Later, after an Ignatian retreat in Bogota, he experienced a profound sense of being at home. Embracing the Catholic faith, Mark later turned to the spiritual exercise of going on pilgrimage to find the “time set apart” from his work of philanthropy and working with donors, charities, families, etc. Walking the camino of Santiago de Compostela, a walk he calls “a whole month retreat,” afforded him the insight to draw parallels between the journey of philanthropy and the journey of pilgrimage, insights he explores in his book, Love Giving Well: The Pilgrimage of Philanthropy.
In this episode, Mark explores these parallels, emphasizing that to give philanthropically cannot be transactional but should be transformational; it allows the giver an opportunity to enter into true and deep relationship and to risk heartbreak. Giving is a way to enter into the life of others and to receive as much as one gives, much like one does with fellow pilgrims on a spiritual journey. Philanthropy, Mark notes, is about bringing change into culture; a venture that takes time. It isn’t about fixing problems but changing hearts. This requires the same kind of patience that’s required on pilgrimage. Philanthropy from this perspective is more akin to stewardship. All stewards care for resources that ultimately are not their own; they are in touch with their own neediness. “Being generous is a state of mind, and not an amount of money,” Mark wrote in his book. Everyone is called to be generous with what he or she has first received from the generosity of others, and ultimately the generosity of God, the giver of all good things.
Guest: Mark Petersen
Title: CEO, Stronger Philanthropy
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John Cannon’s unique background in business, finance, political science, monasticism, philosophy, theology and spirituality has equipped him well for launching SENT Ventures. In this episode, John speaks to how God has redirected the course of his life more than once, moving from a business and political career to several years as a Carmelite monk, to establishing SENT as an entrepreneur.
From an early age, John sought to make a difference in the world, which led him first to an interest in political service, then to business. Chasing a career and success in investment banking and consulting, however, John gradually left the practice of his Catholic faith. That is, until he visited his father in the hospital who, after a significant automobile accident, was in immense pain. “Despite this incredible suffering, he was very other-focused,” John recounts, experiencing within his own heart a newfound clarity of God’s existence, of his love and mercy, and of a path to transformation. Wanting to surrender more and motivated by the contemplative spirituality of St. Theresa of Avila and St. John of the Cross, John entered religious life in a Carmelite monastic community.
Religious life provided him the opportunity to live an integrated and wholistic human life, with time dedicated to prayer, the Mass, work, communal meals, recreation, exercise, hobbies and rest. “These are core building blocks of how God wants us to flourish,” he said, noting that the horarium allowed him to do everything with intentionality, something that we can easily lose with the frenzy of our activity-packed life. The communal aspect also taught him how important it is that we not be isolated one from another. These are lessons he carried into establishing SENT after hearing the call to leave religious life.
“Prayer is the highest ROI activity you can do,” John emphasized, adding that it’s the key to perseverance; an indispensable virtue for business success. SENT is designed to provide founders and business leaders a community of business peers to support their drive, vision and leadership while, at the same time, providing the fellowship of peers to encourage their walk of faithful discipleship and spiritual formation. SENT opens its members to the ongoing conversion to which God calls them so that they, in turn, can witness to God in and through their daily work and encounters.
Guest: John Cannon
Title: Founder, SENT Ventures
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The mission to teach is at the very heart of the Church; a mission she received from the Lord himself: “Go, therefore, and teach all nations” (Matthew 28:19). At Hayden Catholic High School, where Shelly Buhler serves as President, fulfilling that divine mission is something integrated intentionally into everything they do.
Flowing from the school’s strategic planning process and an evaluation of its Catholic identity, the school’s administration and faith formation team meets weekly to strategize and to accept the challenge to go deeper and raise expectations. In their desire to articulate what the value of a Hayden Catholic education is and what culture is required to foster it, they began drafting an aspirational document called a “Portrait of a Hayden Graduate” to establish the characteristics that are the hallmark of the well-educated and well-formed individual. And because teachers must first possess what they hope to instill in the Hayden graduate, the school is working toward a similar “Portrait of a Hayden Teacher.” In this episode, Shelly discusses these portraits and how working toward them is both a challenge but also a profound blessing.
Students are taught to seek wisdom and are led to pursue the virtuous life, i.e., to develop the habits of choosing the good in order to achieve excellence in human behavior; virtues like magnanimity, self-motivation, integrity, time management, perseverance, and humility. Both students and teachers are encouraged to maintain a sense of curiosity and wonder about the world in which we live; an ordered and intelligible world that speaks to us of God revealed in the nature of things as they really are, and of the human person as he or she really is. The four hallmarks of the Hayden teacher is someone who seeks wisdom, pursues the virtuous life, is driven to love neighbor as self, and who lives with an eternal mindset. Practical virtues are also encouraged, such as to maintain a sense of humor, to steward resources well, and to operate from a mindset of abundance.
Hayden’s objective is to impart an education of the heart just as much as an education of the mind. The encounter with Christ alters one’s whole outlook and worldview, but it is also the most difficult to measure of all Hayden’s objectives. It is an aspirational hope that every student encounters and establishes a life-defining relationship with Jesus and Hayden does all it can to create the environment and culture designed to facilitate and nourish that encounter. God ultimately is the author of conversion but prayer, adoration, quiet, contemplation and discernment all help balance the technological, hectic, busy pace of life, enabling students and faculty alike to hear God in the heart, to hear vocation, to contemplate what is learned and to order it all to eternity. Graduates of Hayden ever since 1911 have contributed to their communities, lived lives of service, and have witnessed to the beauty of the Catholic faith. Hayden has every intention of carrying on that tradition in teaching the Catholic faith unabashedly, witnessing to the love of God in Jesus, pursuing virtue and excellence in all aspects of life, and in establishing the intellectual life.
Guest: Shelly Buhler
Title: President, Hayden Catholic High School
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As the great-granddaughter of John and Helena Raskob, and a lifelong member of the Raskob Foundation for Catholic Activities, Kerry grew up involved in philanthropic support of the ministries and good works of the Catholic Church throughout the world. It wasn’t until Father Bob Beloin, Catholic chaplain at Yale University, invited her to lead a capital campaign in support of the St. Thomas More Catholic Chapel and Center at Yale, however, that she grew in her appreciation of fundraising. She recounts her experience of leading the campaign and all the lessons she learned thereby in her 2014 book, Imagining Abundance: Fundraising, Philanthropy and a Spiritual Call to Service, published by Liturgical Press. She began to experience a greater understanding of how fundraising can ennoble people to become a part of an important mission, thereby revealing that “philanthropy and fundraising are two sides of the same coin” and are “inter-related, necessary corollaries.”
Kerry’s involvement with fundraising also exposed her to “theological ambivalence about wealth,” causing some to regard money and financial administration to be a distraction from mission, if not an obstacle. Leadership Roundtable seeks to equip Catholic leaders, clergy and lay, with the resources to be trustworthy and competent in collaboration with and reliance upon the financial acumen and lived experience of lay leaders. Kerry notes that ordained and religious leaders at the head of important apostolates and ministries, can often carry out their work with a disposition mired in fear, thinking of fundraising as nothing more than asking friends for a personal favor. They can worry that they’re asking too much. But when grounded in mission, then inviting becomes a joy and excellence becomes the standard for the mission itself.
Generosity is humankind’s birthright; we are all called to be generous and to serve as catalysts to inspire generosity in others, Kerry noted, helping them to give according to their philanthropic passion. The starting point of generosity is gratitude because, as Kerry learned from Henri Nouwen, once we realize that we are loved by God, we are moved by an immense gratitude to live a fruitful life of giving in return. Kerry reminds us that great leaders think in generations and decide today what matters, not allowing the vagaries of life to deter them from working toward that vision. Hearkening to St. Oscar Romero’s comment, “We are prophets of a future not our own,” Kerry understands both fundraisers and philanthropists to be such prophets when inspired, not by their own ends, but by the mission they serve.
Guest: Kerry Robinson
Title: Executive Director for Global & National Initiatives, Leadership Roundtable
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In this episode, Meg Hunter-Kilmer, author of Pray for Us: 75 Saints Who Sinned, Suffered and Struggled On Their Way to Holiness, shares how she left her position as a high school theology teacher and set off to be an itinerant speaker, witnessing to the love of God, inspiring deeper faith, and sharing the universal attainability of sanctity by demonstrating how the saints in every age cooperated with grace.
Meg heard the baptismal call of the Lord in Matthew 16:24 in a very personal and direct way: “if anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.” Calling herself a “hobo for Christ,” Meg has spent over a decade on the go to over 25 countries and all 50 states speaking from her heart about God. Charging nothing for her speaking events, she has relied upon God’s abundant providence in a radical way. One of her central messages is that the saints were not born saints. They are not “dull outlines of immaculate lives, saccharin, plaster images gazing vapidly heavenward,” as she had once imagined them to be. Thinking of saints like that makes becoming one impossible. No, saints “were real people, broken people made whole by grace, and that far from being [an] impossible standard…they offer nothing but hope.”
"Everybody’s got some element of their life that makes them think they’re ineligible for the love of God, or certainly ineligible for great holiness” Meg observed. But the diversity of saints, from varying backgrounds, cultures, ways of life, gifts and talents, shortcomings and sins, dismantles the notion that we are not the “stuff” of saints. “God is delighted with you exactly as you are,” she points out, “and he is working to make you a saint right now, not in spite of your circumstances, but in and through them.”
Wanting to tell stories and not just restate facts, Meg tells her audiences about the lives of saints from the human perspective. In this episode, she discusses four whose lives exemplified the heroic virtue of generosity and who understood their time, talent and treasure as gifts to be offered in stewardship: Ven. Pierre Toussaint, Ven. Satoko Kitahara, Bl. José Gregorio Hernández, St. Katharine Drexel.
Guest: Meg Hunter-Kilmer
Title: Author/Speaker
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In this first anniversary episode, a clip from each guest of the past year is woven together to provide a montage of collective wisdom, reflecting on the themes of God’s abundant and astounding generosity, personal relationship as the foundation for fundraising, the connection of discipleship and stewardship, to name a few.
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In this episode, Mother Mary Clare, Mother Superior and foundress of the Handmaids of the Heart of Jesus, along with Sister Annunciata, share how God has proven to be astoundingly generous to each of them in their own vocational journey, but also in the life of their community. Relying upon divine providence for all their material needs (the sisters have no income beyond free-will offerings), the Handmaids have experienced first-hand how God not only provides, but does so in abundance.
The name of the community derives from the mystery of the Annunciation. Upon hearing the Lord’s invitation from the Archangel Gabriel, Mary embraced her unique vocation with the words, “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord, let it be done unto me as you say” (Luke 1:38). Seeking to live in imitation of Mary’s own fiat, the Handmaids of the Heart of Jesus is a community of Catholic religious sisters who serve as spiritual mothers in the diocesan life of the Church, being a stable presence in parishes in a manner complementary to diocesan priesthood.
Established in 2010, this relatively new religious community has grown to 36 sisters living in convents in the Diocese of New Ulm (the community’s mother house), the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis, the Diocese of Duluth, and the Diocese of Bismarck. The sisters make it clear that their own vocation to be generous of heart stems from their relationship with the Lord, who has given us everything-including himself in reparation for sin. The stories shared in this episode are a good reminder of the Lord’s command, a command the Handmaids keep before them by relying upon God for everything: “Without cost you have received, without cost you are to give” (Matthew 10:8).
Guest: Handmaids of the Heart of Jesus
Titles:
Mother Mary Clare - Mother Superior
Sister Annunciata – Administrative Assistant
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Father Jarrod was introduced to the stewardship as a way of life from childhood, calling it “the context for my Catholic formation.” Stewardship “became the lens through which we understood how to be a disciple of Jesus Christ,” recognizing that everything we have is a gift we have received. And once we recognize the giftedness we each possess, then we start recognizing the response. The stewardship way of life, which began at St. Francis of Assisi parish, gradually spread and eventually characterized the entire Diocese of Wichita.
Pastors are by necessity stewards, and stewards first and foremost of the mysteries of God (1 Corinthians 4:1) such that there is no such thing as a non-stewardship pastor. At the same time, the stewardship way of life has specific actions, attitudes, and articulations that produce an identity. Adopting this identifiable spirituality is what makes a pastor a “stewardship pastor.” Father Jarrod sums up the steward’s regula vitae as: “I participate, by gifts of time, talent and treasure in a grateful response, such that other people are able to benefit from my gift.” A stewardship parish and diocese will have this same rule of life. And the grateful response of gratitude is what leads us into the spirituality of stewardship since gratitude requires an Other to whom gratitude is due.
In the Old Testament, creation itself is a revelation that God’s very nature is Gift. Creation, therefore, calls us into relationship, into a life of exchange. The human person is created in God’s image and likeness, which means that he is created in the image and likeness of relation. Stewardship, then, is an exercise of our human dignity since it is all about a relationship of gratitude. In the New Testament, God’s nature of Gift is preeminently seen in the gift of his own Son, through whom our relationship to God, each other and creation is recapitulated and healed. The stewardship of life is opened further in the New Testament by the parables of the widow’s mite and of the talents. In 1 Peter 4:7-11, Fr. Jarrod notes, Saint Peter presents all four pillars of stewardship (hospitality, prayer, formation and service) all in the context of love. Living all four pillars of stewardship is to experience the joy of being fully human.
Every pastor knows that his parishioners are already stewards, Father Jarrod observes. Every parish has people who are naturally giving of their gifts, their time and their treasure. Father Jarrod recommends that if a pastor wants to move his parish towards a stewardship way of life, start where it’s already happening and then begin giving it structure.
Guest: Fr. Jarrod Lies
Title: Pastor, Saint Francis of Assisi Catholic Church, Diocese of Wichita
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Quentin Schesnuik grew up in the rural prairies of Saskatchewan and, after graduating from university, began his career in banking. After moving to Toronto for work, he helped an inner-city charity establish a planned giving program to assist the poor. Listening to their stories, he discovered their great wisdom about what matters most in life. Encountering the Lord powerfully in the sacrament of penance and in a return to the faith, Quentin carried his financial skills to work for the Church and eventually came to his present position in the Department of Spiritual Affairs at the archdiocese to guide their 226 parishes into the spirituality of “deep stewardship.”
In 2018, Thomas Cardinal Collins, the Archbishop of Toronto, issued a pastoral letter on stewardship in which he describes what the spirituality of deep stewardship means.
In contrast to a shallow stewardship that focuses only on financial giving, deep stewardship is – to quote the pastoral letter – “a profound inner conversion as individuals and as a community in which we become committed to living generously in every way as the gospel calls us to do.” Quentin noted that stewardship is “a way of being” rather than a program or event. It’s about knowing where God has touched people in their lives and then inviting them to give that gift back to someone.
Even the archdiocese has structured stewardship under the Chancellor of Spiritual Affairs, emphasizing that stewardship is not just or only about financial matters, but ultimately about the soul. The archdiocesan Stewardship Commission and Stewardship Sunday serve as ways to instill a conscious awareness of stewardship in every parish community. The widow praised by the Lord for her generosity was ultimately a steward, living stewardship day in and day out. We can assist each other to live the same way.
Guest: Quentin Schesnuik
Title: Associate Director of Parish Vitality and Stewardship, Office of Formation for Discipleship, Archdiocese of Toronto
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Renée Underwood has often asked, “After you’re gone, who will replace your giving to the church?” She’s quick to provide the answer: “You will!” In this episode, Renée shares her perspective of faith in engaging donors about remembering the Church in their estate plans. She understands these encounters with donors to be a graced and spiritual moment in which the fundraiser must listen to donors’ stories and appreciate the movement of God in the donor’s life. The human person is made for eternity; a planned gift is a way to serve the Church temporally as we praise God forever in the Church triumphant. Renée’s background as a spiritual director has helped her listen attentively to donors and to help them discern how best to apply their planned giving. The great thing about leaving a planned gift to a diocese, she noted, is that there are so many ministries and areas of the Church that will speak to a variety of donors’ interests.
She notes that planned giving in the Church is very fertile ground. So many Catholics are bombarded by universities and other good causes for planned gifts but the Church rarely asks. That’s changed in the Diocese of Fort Worth where the bishop has begun a diocesan day of stewardship, has implemented stewardship education and formation for seminarians and the presbyterate, and has inaugurated a Light of Christ award for laity in every parish who demonstrate in their daily lives a stewardship walk of faith. Inviting the faithful to remember the Church in their estate planning isn’t something done once; it requires repetition through multiple channels of communication. Ultimately, Renée noted, people love being a part of the decision-making in how their gifts will be used for generations to come. Planned giving can also be a part of capital campaigns to encourage a gift for immediate needs and an endowed gift to support the projects for the long term. Regardless, every instrument used by a diocese for the faithful to give ought to have an option for planned giving. Nine times out of ten, people who make a planned gift considered it because of something they saw at the parish level. It’s important to keep the invitation going.
She stressed that everyone in the Church needs to understand the importance of planned giving in the work of the Church today, from the individual Catholic faithful, to parish staff, to pastors. While annuities or donor advised funds are ways people can give, the diocese or parishes don’t need to be experts. Donors will have their advisors and the diocese may even have Catholic tax lawyers or financial planner to recommend. In the end, each person’s situation is unique and that’s why these gifts take a long time to put together. “You’re in the presence of God when you’re doing it. You’re doing it for the right reasons and everything will be just fine.”
Guest: Renée Underwood
Title: Chief Development Officer, Catholic Diocese of Fort Worth Advancement Foundation
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Ashley Linville looks at his life in gratitude for how God has opened doors and led him on new pathways. His strong Baptist faith has helped him prayerfully discern “the still, small voice” of God, and to respond with trust to opportunities that sometimes came as a surprise. Though stressful, stepping forward in faith leads to the tell-tale sign of God’s presence: peace. Ashley presides over fundraising ministry in a young but burgeoning diocese. The 185-year-old Diocese of Nashville (established in 1837) in Middle Tennessee is not home to a large Catholic population. Ashley considers his own Baptist faith journey to be an advantage to understanding the many people in the diocese who are converts, and the many more in the community who are not Catholic in their Christian discipleship. Though small comparatively speaking, the Catholic population is nonetheless vibrant and growing. Transplants from northern and more traditionally Catholic areas, Christians who’ve entered the full communion of the Church, and a growing Hispanic community have led to an ever-increasing number of the Catholic faithful. The diocesan mission statement, “Living and proclaiming the good news of Jesus Christ, welcoming all,” is fitting.
There is so much promise for tomorrow in the diocese. What some may seem as challenges that accompany such rapid growth, Ashley and the diocese embrace as opportunities. “Some people get comfortable with the status quo,” Ashley notes. Large fundraising goals can be scary to those who are accustomed to how things have been. But that hasn’t stopped the diocese from advancing. In the four years Ashley’s been with the diocese, the annual appeal goal has grown from $2.4 million to $3 million. Last year the diocese opened two new parishes, the first Catholic Mass was celebrated in one of the counties comprising the diocese, a new parish south of Nashville is blossoming and will serve as the site for a new diocesan school to open in just under two years. “People are excited about the growth,” Ashley said, and have demonstrated amazing support for the diocesan-wide A Legacy of Faith, Hope and Love capital campaign. The $50 million effort is aimed at funding priorities that Bishop Spalding heard on his “look, listen, & learn” tour upon arriving as bishop. He heard over and over… “we need strong vocations, good priests, strong Catholic education and opportunities for poor families, and help for others in the community who are struggling to thrive and survive.”
Development work at first caused Ashley a lot of anxiety as he didn’t like asking for money. He’s learned, however, that it’s about relationships and taking the time to share with others what the need is. “That’s what we’ve done in this campaign.” And the effects of people’s generosity bears fruit for generations to come. “It’s like a shade tree. We have a lot of maple trees in Tennessee but a maple sapling is only 4 to 6 inches high; we can’t sit under its shade. But in 50 years, the maple saplings we’re planting today will provide shade for our children and grandchildren. They can sit in the shade and bask in the faith.” Ashley doesn’t think of donors as donors but as friends, fellow disciples. Ashley thinks of his work as a way to live by a scriptural text he says is his guiding principle: “yet I live, no longer I, but Christ lives in me, insofar as I now live in the flesh, I live by faith in the Son of God who has loved me and given himself up for me” (Galatians 2:20).
Guest: Ashley Linville
Title: Director of Stewardship & Development, Diocese of Nashville
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During his early career in banking, Bill Maloney decided to step out of accounting and take the Dale Carnegie Class on Human Relations, which led him to push through his introversion and make strategic recommendations to bank management and colleagues. This opened the door to development, which Bill emphasizes is premised on strong personal relationships.
Bill has learned that while approaching major donors can be intimidating and risky, it’s important to remember that we all share a common human nature and need for God. When we can tap into that reality and get past trappings and exteriors, confidence grows. We’re all on the same path. Personal relationship at the heart of development work is the key to avoiding popular misconceptions that fundraising is simply a sales job or commercial exchange. Development, Bill says, is an invitation to participate in something great. You feel good about that. And for the invitation to have a favorable response, there needs to be trust. For those who work in diocesan fundraising, parochialism can be a challenge; to earn the trust of the faithful, it’s important to be involved in one’s own parish and identify with those invited to support the diocese. Also important is to educate parishioners across the diocese that giving to diocesan needs is, in fact, supporting one’s own parish as well. And, of course, building trust as a foundation to personal relationship is not something done quickly but only patiently with the passage of time.
In his archdiocese, Bill and his team have implemented several strategies to keep communications with donors frequent to build relationship. Each week they place a huge number of phone calls to parishioners across the diocese for no other reason than to say “thank you.” While seemingly a small thing, it’s rarely done and its impact is significant. Bill also began monthly emails to the entire archdiocesan database in which he shares personal stories and invites others to share their personal stories as well. He crafts and tailors a minimum of three emails every day to send to donors. Each September the archdiocese sends a request to have people provide prayer requests to the archbishop who then prays over them in his home. Bill continues to be amazed at how these efforts have generated a very great response. Unless you open yourself up to others and let others know you, Bill notes, others will be hesitant to do the same.
Guest: Bill Maloney
Title: Executive Director of the Office of Stewardship & Development, Archdiocese of Kansas City in Kansas, Executive Director of the Catholic Foundation of Northeast Kansas
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At more than 83,000 square miles, the Diocese of Boise is vast, comprising the entire state of Idaho. As a largely rural diocese (the 2020 census indicated an overall population of under 2 million inhabitants), the diocese is a beneficiary of support from the USCCB’s Catholic Home Missions Fund and the Extension Society. Bishop Peter Christensen, the Bishop of the Diocese of Boise, says he doesn’t mind all the driving to bring the gospel from one end of the diocese to the other. “It’s stunning…it’s a beautiful state and beautiful people here are amazingly open.” Upon arriving in the diocese over seven years ago, he noted immediately “a core value of faith” in the Christian faithful, adding, “something good has happened here already and it’s a delight to be with these people.” The bishop’s accessibility and presence is important to the presbyterate so the priests can “know their bishop’s mind,” Bishop Peter notes, which is why he travels broadly, celebrating confirmations, the Rite of Election and—during Covid especially—celebrating healing Masses.
Over 20 ministries are funded by the annual Idaho Catholic Appeal, including support for clergy retirement, services to the poor, and one close to Bishop Peter’s heart—Catholic education to support the diocese’s 16 parochial schools, and two high schools. The annual appeal exceeded goal by 10% through Covid, which is a true sign of the faithful’s sense of stewardship. Stewardship is an important responsibility for all the baptized but a unique duty of the bishop. Bishop Peter recalls, “When Jesus called Peter on the boat, he became a fisher of men. Later, after the resurrection, Peter comes off the boat and Jesus pulls him aside and says, do you love me? I want you to feed my sheep. So, Peter moves from a fisherman to a shepherd. And that’s a very important aspect for the Church; we have to go out and catch and evangelize, but we also have to take care of what is there and minister. It’s the role of a shepherd. It’s an honor to be in that role…Sometimes as Catholics I don’t think we realize how much energy—and even financial energy—goes into maintaining and taking care of God’s people.” All the faithful, regardless of their capacity to give, can nonetheless give sacrificially and generously, Bishop Peter notes, observing that those who live their faith have a “natural” appreciation for stewardship and generous giving. “Any time a person gives, whether it be money, or just even service, or just care, it does come back. You know it.”
The prophet Isaiah (Isaiah 42:16) sums up what Bishop Peter believes to be applicable to the times we’re in: “The Lord leads the blind on journey, by paths unknown he leads them, he gives them light for the path, crooked ways he makes straight.” The Lord is with us, Bishop Peter states, “he is on this journey, he’ll help us through, and we are graced to have that relationship with God and each other.”
Guest: Bishop Peter Christensen
Bishop of the Diocese of Boise
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The Sunday collection may appear to be a disruptive intrusion into celebrating spiritual mysteries, but Father Darrin Gurr sees the offertory as “a very sacred moment,” since it is “the very first act of the celebration of the Liturgy of the Eucharist … and it’s essential because ultimately it gives meaning to the celebration of the Eucharist. Until the gifts are gathered up and offered, the good things of the Eucharistic celebration can’t come to be.”
Far from just a collection, the offertory gathers up everything around the altar, including God’s people at the celebration of the Eucharist. How this is done liturgically, not just efficiently, can help or hinder the symbolism of the Christian faithful’s offering of themselves in the gift of their financial resources. Fr. Darrin notes that at the heart of the offertory is not just meeting the financial need of the Church, but first it is an expression of our inherent need to give and “to return to God generously and justly” a portion of what we have first received from him. This need is deep in our hearts and therefore no one is exempt from participating in the offertory as part of the gathered community at the Sunday Eucharist.
Fr. Darrin challenges us to develop a spirituality of money — the money we give as well as the money we keep—and to use all of our money in a God-given way, not just the money offered at Mass. Ultimately, when we are radically generous in a way that cuts into our lives, we then experience a deep transformation and a profound joy.
Guest: Fr. Darrin Gurr
Pastor, Saint Gianna Beretta Molla Church, Winnipeg, Manitoba
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Creator of The Great Adventure Bible study series, host of the weekly podcast, The Jeff Cavins Show, and co-host of The Bible in A Year podcast with Fr. Mike Schmitz, Jeff Cavins is a well-known Catholic evangelist, author and biblical scholar.
In this episode, Jeff discusses his latest book, The Activated Disciple: Taking Your Faith to the Next Level. An activated disciple is someone who, having encountered the person of Jesus in a life-transforming way, shapes his or her day so as to foster and nourish that relationship of love. It isn’t enough to “consume the faith” by reading the latest books about Catholicism, attending conferences or listening to programs and podcasts; it’s necessary to live it.”
Reducing the faith to a “consumer religion,” Jeff notes, results in a crisis whereby disciples fail to witness convincingly to the gospel, failing to win souls for God and the Church. The Lord’s call to “come follow me,” Jeff explains, was a formulaic invitation used by all itinerant rabbis in the first century to choose those who had the ability to imitate the rabbi and become like him; to take up his mantle and assume his world view. Just so, Jesus called the apostles to take his yoke and learn from him – as he calls yet today. Discipleship is open to us all in every walk of life. It is an invitation to pick up the Lord’s mantle – his mission – and walk with it. The active disciple resists the noise and distractions that steals time away from prayer.
How do we come to know the voice of the Lord? There is no shortcut; it requires lots of time. But time spent with the Lord is not a burden; it’s an invitation to life. The active disciple is also one who gives generously since God has first given everything to us, even his only begotten Son, out of love. Imitating him, then, leads to that joyful giving which is a trademark, among other characteristics and virtues, of the disciple. When we give to God, he will do extraordinary things with what we give that far exceed anything we could do on our own. Giving is a joy.
Guest: Jeff Cavins
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Discipleship, stewardship and evangelization all center around relationship, and specifically relationship with God and neighbor. In this episode, guest Dave Baranowski recounts his own spiritual journey and notes that an encounter with Jesus and hearing the call to discipleship changes everything in one’s life. For those who have had an authentic encounter with the Lord, the practice of the faith moves from obligation to friendship. This naturally spurs the disciple to gratitude for all that is received (stewardship), which in turn inspires generosity.
Unlike simple philanthropy, which supports causes of one’s own interest and often involves getting something back, the Christian disciple gives from a place of trusting faith, that all this is given has been first received as gift. Relationship with Christ also impels the disciple to exercise and live out his or her unique charisms (gifts of the Holy Spirit) to lead others to the same life-giving encounter with Jesus (evangelization). Discerning our charisms, which are always used for good, is central to discipleship so that the fruit we bear in life flows from God through us to enrich the lives of others.
Guest: David Baranowski
Director of Parish Stewardship & Leadership Formation, Archdiocese of Saint Louis
St. Louis review article: The interconnectedness of discipleship, stewardship and evangelization
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With guest Francis Doyle of the Diocese of Hamilton, this episode addresses the philanthropic landscape of the Catholic Church in Canada, addressing cultural, societal and ecclesial challenges to fundraising. Challenges include a decline in Mass attendance, depopulation of rural areas, the tendency of large institutions in Canada to rely upon public funding, a social etiquette that makes asking for money unpalatable, skepticism among clergy and laity regarding the likelihood of fundraising success, scandals that have eroded trust in the Church’s use of funds, and the recent residential school system scandal. In addition to these challenges, few Canadian dioceses have an established development office to conduct intentional large-scale fundraising efforts. The more locally-based fundraising in Canada sometimes suffers from the lack of sophistication that an organized capital campaign can bring. Rather than allowing these challenges to stymie the Church in fulfilling her mission and seeking the financial support to do so, the episode explores how every challenge can also be an opportunity.
The Diocese of Hamilton completed a very successful $35 million One Heart, One Soul capital campaign, bringing new life to the diocesan church and its parishes. Building trust, increasing transparency, communicating more clearly, and witnessing to the faith more convincingly can be spiritual fruits of capital campaigns alongside the financial gains. Organized and intentional fundraising campaigns can help create a shift in mindset, placing fundraising and development work back into relationship with prayer and living discipleship. “We’ll never have a shortage of wounds and challenges,” Francis Doyle notes, “but if we allow them to stop us from inviting people to build the Church, that is compounding tragedy with tragedy. The Lord wants us to stand and walk, and face profound challenges as a call to trust.”
Guest: Francis Doyle
Vice Chancellor of Temporal Affairs, Diocese of Hamilton, Ontario
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This inaugural episode explores the thought of Henri Nouwen on the human journey from “the house of fear to the house of love” and how Nouwen’s spirituality of fundraising is therefore less about fundraising per se and more about recognizing each engagement with benefactors as a graced interpersonal encounter. Nathan Ball discusses the importance of shifting our mindset and the way we talk about fundraising from duty and burden to opportunity and invitation to deep relationship. Nouwen spoke of the human heart as fearful and anxious and yet the more authentic we become, the more at peace we are and the less anxious we become about inviting others to share our mission. Another way to develop the courage to fundraise is to be aware of the wounded relationship each person has with money and to approach donor engagement gently, ready to listen to potential donors as much as we are ready to talk.
Guest: Nathan Ball
Former Executive Director of the L’Arche International Foundation; Close Friend of Fr. Henri Nouwen
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Twelve Wicker Baskets with Christopher Beaudet, presented by the Steier Group, premieres on Feb. 23, 2022. Listen to a sneak peek of the podcast now and subscribe to hear the full conversation later this month.
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