SMOY Saints
Thank you and welcome to SMOY Saints a way of life for our parish! The church is missionary and our neighborhood, workplace, schools, and gyms are our mission field. God has placed each one of us here in this specific place at this specific moment for a reason. We don’t want to be a church that sits on the sidelines waiting for someone else to do the work God has asked us to do.
SMOY Saints is a new parish initiative to advance the mission of the church by what we call co-responsibility. Embracing co-responsibility helps us to more fully participate in the life of our parish by providing opportunities to be generous with our time, talent, and treasure in doing what Jesus commissioned us to do.
Introducing SMOY Saints
Co-responsibility - a collaborative means for all parishioners to take ownership of spreading the Gospel. Co-responsibility is lived out through generosity of time, talent, and treasure.
Living the Gospel through Co-Responsibility
The SMOY Saints initiative is all about “Living the Gospel through Co-Responsibility” with these goals in mind:
What is Tithing?
Tithing is giving. Although it is important to give your time and talent, the word tithing refers to giving financially. Specifically, it is giving the first 10% of your income to your local church.
Why We Give?
We give not because we have to, but because God gave to us first. Scripture established tithing in the Old Testament and Christ reaffirmed it as an important part of faith for those who follow Him. Throughout Scripture God reminds us that everything we have belongs to Him and are blessings from Him, entrusted into our care for the good of all peoples.
Therefore as disciples, we give with a joy-filled and generous spirit. The local parish is our home base for evangelization where people come to meet Jesus and their lives are transformed, so there is no better investment than the local parish.
Tithing is a huge step and we understand not everyone can start at a full 10% but we encourage everyone to start somewhere. Perhaps a half-tithe?
Let’s Do a Little Math
A little census research shows the average household income in our area is approximately $100,000. Assuming our parishioners earn an average income for our area, we would have a potential offering of nearly $8 million per year if every family gave a half tithe. Just imagine what more we could accomplish as a parish!
Ways to Give
Tithes and offerings support the mission of the church. Adequate funds beyond what is needed to fund basic parish functions and operations are vital to a vibrant parish. Our parish has a variety of ways to give.
Switch from Electronic Fund Transfer (EFT) to WeShare
Before WeShare, one of the ways to give automatically and electronically was via Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT). New technologies often improve upon the functionality and security of older technology. We encourage everyone who has been giving through EFT to switch to giving via WeShare. Switching is easy. Just give us a call! 513.697.3109.
Co-Responsibility is More than Tithing it is a Call to Discipleship
Co-responsibility is based in action. It is a deliberate choice to use what God has given us to further the mission of the Church. As Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI once said “you were not made for comfort, you were made for greatness.” To be a disciple is bold, maybe even a bit dangerous; but if we love the Lord we will faithfully answer it. But what does it actually mean to be a disciple?
A disciple is a student, a follower of a teacher who seeks to become like the teacher, in our case a disciple is someone who wants to mimic Jesus and seeks to become a witness of the Gospel. In other words, we are people seeking Sainthood.
Get Involved, Join a Ministry!
Ministry Success Stories
Some examples of how our parish ministries are already “Living the Gospel through Co-Responsibility”:
The Finance Commission saved parishioners $565K by proactively securing a lower interest rate for the church's mortgage loan.
The parish supports the school! Per standardized test scores, SMOY students excel, surpassing national norms by 4-5 grade levels!
Wisdom of the Word (WOW) is SMOY’s Bible study ministry that has been around for nearly a decade with 120 annual participants. WOW embraced technology and leveraged Zoom to teach the Word during Covid.
The Elizabeth Ministry has supported new mothers with many prayers, 70 blankets handmade with love, 100+ family meals, hundreds of hours of home visiting, and countless expectant mother blessings imparted by Father to our new families.
Approximately 130 parishioners participate in the Honduras Twinning mission by sponsoring ~150 severely impoverished students at Home of Nazareth School.
The technology team developed, deployed, and upgraded live streaming equipment at a time of need, bringing the Mass and other events into the homes of parishioners.
The Food Pantry Ministry (formerly SMOYShares) supports both the Kings Local and Loveland LIFE Food Pantries which, in 2020, approximately served 9,000 people.
Parish Pastoral Council focuses on being the eyes and ears of fellow parishioners, and through dialogue and prayerful discernment, advises the pastor on how to best fulfill the mission of Christ at St. Margaret of York.
And so much more!