“It remains our duty to model the person of Jesus, to teach the Gospel and evangelize our culture. We are convinced that Catholic elementary and secondary schools play a critical role in this endeavor.” U.S. Catholic Bishops
“We want to broaden the base of support for St. Mark’s School…every parishioner has a stake in our school and we all have a responsibility for it.” Fr. Steve Rukavina, Pastor
For the past five years, St. Mark’s School along with St. Mark’s Church has been implementing the biblical ideal of living a stewardship way of life. Stewardship is an act of belonging and involvement.Through Baptism and our membership in the church, we are all called to give the first fruits of time, talent and treasure to God. It is an act of recognizing God’s providence to us and our obligation to manage it wisely.
One of the many visions of becoming a stewardship parish and school is to go from paying tuition, to having parish paid education. In essence, if you meet the definition of an active parishioner, you would pay no tuition, in the school or in the parish for any education classes. During these past 5 years, the tuition rate at St. Mark’s School has not been raised due to the generosity of the parish and their increased monetary support. In order to be considered for the parish paid tuition, parents and families are asked to become “active parishioners”. The definition of active parishioner is as follows:
- Registered member of St. Mark’s for at least one year.
- Current annual Stewardship Commitment Card on file (completed every Oct/Nov)
- Regular mass attendance on Sundays & Holy days at St. Mark’s parish
- At least one adult member of the household is committed and active in at least one parish ministry.
- Committed to biblical tithing with a goal of 5% of gross income to the parish, 1% to annual Diocesan appeal and 4% of gross income to other charities.
- Resolute in fulfilling your annual commitment to the parish.
- Complete and submit Stewardship Reflection report (April, July & Oct)
What do we need to be successful in our efforts?
- We need all parish families who desire Parish Sponsored Education to know what it means to practice active stewardship in the parish
- We need everyone in the parish to be active and involved in the life of the parish
- We need families to complete Stewardship Commitment cards and work toward tithing 5% to the parish
- Know what the actual cost is of educating a student at St. Mark’s
- It is your total commitment, not just your dollars that are instrumental in making St. Mark’s a successful environment in which to have your child be educated. There is no getting away from the fact that the school needs financial support on your part. However the things that you do on behalf of our children, both at home and here at school, contribute to each student’s learning. They are powerful examples to your child about how we can work to use God’s blessings in our lives and as such they are a most authentic response to Christ’s call to discipleship.
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