Letter to Parents Concerning the Children's Envelope Program

Dear Parents,

Every day children in our society are bombarded with hundreds of advertising messages.  Current estimates are that the average child receives 3,000 advertising messages a day.  For the most part these messages tell our children that they are not good enough unless they wear the right clothes, drink the right soda, or even carry the right cell phone.  I think it is important that in church our children hear a different message.
 
They need to hear the stewardship message—that God has given them many unique and special gifts.  They need to hear that Jesus loves them just as they are.  And they need to realize that they even have something to share with the rest of the world.  For this reason, we offer the Children’s Offertory Envelope Program, which will allow our children to place their own gifts to God in the Offertory basket each week.
 
I want to be clear about the fact that the purpose of this program IS NOT to raise more money for our parish.  The purpose is to teach the children the joy of giving and the fact that they need to give back to God out of gratitude for all that God has given to them.
 
Every student will have the opportunity to participate by filling out an Envelope Request Form (link to the right).  We have selected an assortment of envelopes that are appropriate for various age groups.  I hope that you will find them to be good conversation starters for your family.  The envelopes also allow the children to write down a gift of time to prayer or talent in service to others that they have shared that week.  We will be reporting the results of the children’s envelope program periodically in the bulletin or parish e-newsletter.
 
Each week, during the Preparation of the Altar and Gifts at Sunday Mass, children will be invited to come to the altar to place their envelope in a basket.  If a child is uncomfortable coming to the altar, he or she may also place the envelope in the baskets that are passed through the congregation. 
 
I believe that this involvement in the Preparation of the Altar and Gifts will be a positive experience for our children which will mold them into stronger and more giving Catholic adults.  I ask you to support the effort by first and foremost bringing your child to Mass every weekend.  Remind them to bring their envelopes with them and talk with them through the week regarding their thoughts and feelings about Stewardship of Prayer, Service, and Sacrificial Giving.
 
I DO NOT expect you to supply your child with the money that goes in the envelope.  One of the primary purposes of this effort is to teach children that it does indeed feel good to give.  It is good for our self-esteem to know that we have something to offer back to the world.  For that reason, it is more important that a child puts in a nickel, dime, or quarter from his or her own allowance and feels proud of that contribution than putting in five dollars from mom’s or dad’s wallet, which is meaningless to the child.
 
I hope that you and your family will be as excited about this Children’s Offertory Envelope Program as I am.  As always, I pray for God’s blessings upon you and your family.
 
Sincerely yours in Christ,

Rev. William C. Schooler
Pastor