McKenna Stewardship Ministry

FOREWORD BY JOHN CARDINAL O'CONNOR

I'm sure there are many other priests who join in my utter dislike for fund raising. It's not that I don't believe that the Church's financial needs are critical, or that the numerous charitable services conducted by the Church aren't worth begging for. It's simply my awareness of and sensitivity to the very difficult economic times we live in and the strain many families are under to keep body and soul together. I am aware, as well, of the extraordinary generosity of people, rich and poor alike, who give even before they are asked.

Tithing is giving of a special order. Neither the gift given nor the manner in which the gift is used is the key. Tithing is about the giver, it's about the reason for giving. A Giant Leap in Faith gets to the heart of it -- and truly tithing is a matter of the heart.

I have not mandated tithing in the Archdiocese of New York. But those pastors who have initiated it on their own, with the help of the Gerry McKenna Stewardship Ministry, report a marked increase in parish giving and, more importantly, a deepened spiritual life in the parish.

In my judgment, every priest and every bishop can learn something from this little booklet, not just about the potential of tithing for parishes, but also for themselves as tithers. And lay Catholics may find this very private, personal commitment helpful as they live "in the world but are not of the world." At a minimum, the merits of tithing should be explored and it seems to me that the Gerry McKenna Stewardship Ministry offers a simple and very workable means of doing so.

I highly recommend A Giant Leap in Faith and the McKenna Stewardship Ministry to all, and commend those selfless lay persons who sacrifice so much to share their own experience of tithing with others. Indeed God must be pleased with the gift, but how much more with the giver!

John Cardinal O'Connor
Archbishop of New York
April 1994

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