Service Witness Talk
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2021 Stewardship of Service Witness Talk - Carie Brackett
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Stewardship of Service Witness Talk
May 15/16, 2021
Given by: Carie Brackett
My name is Carie Brackett. My husband Dana and I have been parishioners at St Pius for almost 20 years. We have 3 children, Morgan, Logan and Madison who all attend school here. I am honored and humbled to speak to you today about Stewardship of Service. When Fr Bill asked me to give this talk, he gave me 2 rules - 1. Keep it short and 2. Don’t cry. I’m hoping I can hit at least one of these marks!
When I think about Stewardship of Service at St Pius, it makes me think of a jigsaw puzzle - all the complex pieces fitting perfectly together to create the big picture. The sacrifice of time and talents of our fellow parishioners coming together to create a masterpiece only God could piece together so perfectly.
I grew up in a small parish in Mid-Michigan, my parents, John and Linda Yaney, made Stewardship of service a way of life. They were involved in everything and were always eager to help where they were needed. I learned early that giving of myself through service to our church community gave me great JOY and filled my heart like nothing else. Using my God-given talents to help in childcare, our youth group, serve at mass, or work at our parish festivals helped complete the puzzle. Because of our involvement this church became a second home to my brothers and me and the parishioners were like an extension of our own family.
I moved to this area as a young adult. It took me over a year to find a Catholic church that I thought could parallel my experience growing up. From my first mass at Pius, I knew this was where God led me.I was so excited about St Pius and all that it had to offer. I remember taking the buletin home and circling everything I wanted to do, everything I wanted to get involved in...but it didn’t go much further than that. Even though I was so excited about the service opportunities St Pius offered, I was scared and intimidated by the size of our parish. I didn’t know anyone here and I wasn’t going too far out of my comfort zone to meet people. Each week I would continue going to mass, to be fed spiritually, I would say hello to the priest on my way out and then quickly jet out to the parking lot. Each week I would circle opportunities in the bulletin and later in the week, throw it away. In a parish this size, it’s easy to hide in the pews, it’s easy to say there are better, more talented people to fill those puzzle pieces. But that’s not God’s intention for us. That’s not why he gave each one of us different, specific talents. He needs each one of us to create his masterpiece here at St Pius.
I’m embarrassed to say that I continued this pattern for a couple years. Soon after Dana and I were married, a gentleman at work, my friend, Jon Housand, stopped in my office and mentioned that he saw us at Pius. We talked about how much we loved it here and about the amazing priests. He boldly asked me if I was involved in any ministries. I was honest, I said “no! I’m terrified! That place is so huge! I don’t know anyone!” So, it was Jon who signed me up for my first ministry at St Pius. Minutes later he added me to his list of casserole makers for the Center for the Homeless Casserole ministry. I think it was less than a week later that Dana and I were in our kitchen putting the ingredients together for our first casserole. In God’s amazing plan, I am the coordinator for that ministry today.
After Jon pulled me out of my comfort zone, it was like a snowball effect and so much easier to say yes to other service opportunities. Once Dana and I started our family it was easy to volunteer for our children’s activities, like VBS, Catechesis of the Good Shepherd, HASA events at the school. The community seems much smaller and less intimidating now. Once I got the courage to attend a Christ Renews His Parish weekend that helped to solidify the family feeling for me at St Pius. Attending the weekend changed the familiar faces in the pews into my sisters in Christ.
1 Peter 4:10 As each one has received a special gift, employ it in serving one another as good stewards of the multifaceted grace of God.
I invite you to look over the ministries of service that St Pius has to offer. Don’t just circle ministries or events in the buletin that appeal to you but actively pray about it. Ask God where He needs you. What piece of the puzzle does He need you to fill? Where do YOU fit into God’s masterpiece? Helping at mass, feeding the homeless, gardening, serving at the Feast of St Pius? Maybe God will simply ask you to reach out to others, like Jon did to me, and pull them closer to Him. I’m so glad that Jon did that for me.
Thank you and may God bless you and your family, always.