More than 80 participants learned the meaning of a life of Stewardship at the 3rd annual Bilingual Diocesan Stewardship Conference held last month at St. Raphael’s Parish. Participants learned that God is the Giver of all: our families, personal time, jobs, resources, environment, human life, faith, and indeed everything, and as faithful stewards, we make a conscious commitment to “give” back to God, in gratitude and love, a portion of our time, talent and treasure.

The Bishop of El Paso, Bishop Mark Seitz, began the conference with an opening keynote, mentioning that when he thinks about Stewardship, he thinks about a way to translate abstract Gospel ideals into daily life. “I think about a way that a community can go beyond a minimalistic understanding of what it is to be a Catholic – a method to rekindle the fire of our discipleship.”

The conference main presentation was by Dave Baranowski, Director of Stewardship from the Archdiocese of St. Louis, Missouri, he offered his 12-year expertise to the Diocese of El Paso in his presentation: “Stewardship Best Practices: Transforming Individual Lives and Parish communities.” A special youth-track was also offered at the conference with presentations by Diocesan Director of Marriage and Family Life Deacon Danny Bejarano, and Diocesan Programs Coordinator for Tepeyac Institute Arturo Adame, presentations focused on the topics of the Eucharist and the life of Blessed Carlo Acutis. Participants also had the opportunity to hear presentations by Fr. Cesar Garcia, Fr. Allan Alaka, Dr. Elia Cardenas, and Guadalupe Gonzalez.

Participants had an enriching experience learning the meaning of stewardship and were called to faithfully continue to serve God and their neighbors in their parishes. Chick-fil-A Rojas and Eastlake Marketplace sponsored a lunch for conference attendees.

For more information about the 2025 Diocesan Stewardship Conference, don’t hesitate to get in touch with Karina Sandoval at ksandoval@catholicfoundationelpaso.org.