While for most Roman Catholics, the message of giving is received through a pastor's annual appeal letter or in a sermon on “Missions Sunday,” a group of 60 top lay people from around the United States gathered recently in Naples, Fla. at the first Generous Giving Conference for Catholics to hear a biblical message on living a life of generosity.
“I'm embarrassed to tell you this, but I have never heard that 'God owns it
all.' This idea has transformed my thinking,” said one attendee at the November conference.
“Although the Church encourages us to live a life of service and generosity,
the subjects of giving and generosity are rarely covered in a Sunday
sermon,” said Michael Timmis, vice-chairman of Talon LLC and conference
co-sponsor.” When we stop to discover what the Scriptures say about living
generously, our attitudes about giving totally change – to give is no longer
an obligation, but a privilege.”
The three-day conference focused on scriptural teachings about being
grateful for God's many blessings and living generously and featured Fr.
Richard John Neuhaus, author and editor of First Things; Chuck Colson, noted
author and speaker; Fr. Michael Scanlan, chancellor of Franciscan
University; Bishop Leonard Blair, Auxiliary Bishop in the Archdiocese of
Detroit; and Peter Herbeck, vice president and director of Missions for
Renewal Ministries. Thomas S. Monaghan, founder of the national pizza chain Dominos and founder and chairman of Legatus, and Michael Timmis,
vice-chairman of Talon LLC, co-hosted and co-sponsored the event.
Additional events will take place in New York, Detroit and Naples, Fla. in
2003. The goal is to encourage attendees to give more and to give more
strategically, thereby creating a revolution of generosity within the
Church.
Generous Giving is a faith-based, nonprofit organization that seeks to
encourage Americans to fully understand and embrace what it means to live a
generous life. Founded in 2000 as a supporting organization of The Maclellan Foundation, Generous Giving offers a variety of practical tools including conferences and events, books, and study guides, as well as an exhaustive online resource of articles, statistics, faith-based studies, and sermons to help people of all income levels experience the life-changing joy of generosity.
The Generous Giving Marketplace is a unique Internet tool with more than 600 charity projects from some 290 different faith-based organizations that offer potential giving opportunities. The site includes a profiling tool that helps people identify the causes and issues that have personal meaning to them. The free service matches those interests with charitable organizations and initiatives that are seeking financial assistance and even provides direct links to those organizations with online giving capabilities.
