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WICHITA, Kan. — As Catholic school enrollment continues to decline and schools close across the country — more than 1,400 since 1990 — dioceses could learn from the example of the Diocese of Wichita, Kan.
The diocese of more than 120,000 Catholics is not closing schools; rather, it’s opening them.
The diocese’s distinct emphasis on stewardship has enabled parishes to fund their ministries, including completely funding their parish schools since 2002.
“Stewardship was not developed to fund schools, but the funding of schools is a product of that,” said Bob Voboril, superintendent of schools for the Diocese of Wichita. “Parishes are able to fund their ministries because of the generosity of those parishioners who embrace stewardship. As we realize how good God is to us, we follow God’s example and share generously with others.”
The diocese traces the history of its extraordinary emphasis on a stewardship way of life to 1968 and the leadership of Msgr. Thomas McGread, pastor of St. Francis of Assisi, a parish in western Wichita.
“He said that if parishioners would give at least 5% of their income to the parish, the parish could cover all its obligations, including the elementary school,” explained Voboril. “He invited parishioners to take ownership for the life of the parish.”
Eight years later, in 1976, Msgr. McGread upped the ante by saying that if parishioners gave 8%, he could pay for all the students attending Catholic high school and a new parish church could be built without having a fund drive.
According to Voboril, as parishes grew stronger and had more resources, the schools gradually did away with tuition. Since 2002, all of the dioceses’ 38 schools — including four Catholic high schools — have been without tuition, educating just under 11,000 students.
How the Diocese Does It
The diocese expects all families to attend Mass each Sunday, participate in religious education, volunteer in parish ministries and make a financial commitment. Each family is asked to fill out a pledge form committing to stewardship. The end result is that families and individuals give not only of their financial gifts, but also of their time.
So unique is the model that the Diocese of Wichita’s school system was featured in the first chapter of the 2008 book Who Will Save America’s Urban Catholic Schools, published by the Fordham Institute.
“The diocese saw that the best way to teach stewardship was not to compete. If a family is paying $3,000-$5,000 in tuition, a family is not inclined to pay its first fruits to the parish,” explained Voboril.
Unlike most dioceses across the country, the Diocese of Wichita does not conduct an annual appeal or take up second collections.
The diocese has seen tremendous growth and success. In the fall of 2011, the diocese opened a new school — St. Catherine of Siena. It’s the third new school to open in the diocese within the past 10 years.
Whereas Catholic school enrollment has dropped by one-third nationally since 1985, in the Diocese of Wichita, it has increased by more than 2,000 students since 1990 — and is at a 40-year high.
The stewardship program crosses over into other areas of parish life as well.
“In just four years, we were able to cut a $4.5-million debt in half,” described Father Andy Kuykendall, pastor of St. Peter the Apostle parish in Schulte, Kan. “Three times I’ve been at parishes where we got out of debt.”
Father Kuykendall said that stewardship has also resulted in a growth in vocations and other projects as well.
“We’ve been blessed with an abundance of seminarians within the last 10 years,” said Father Kuykendall. “The diocese has also opened the Lord’s Diner, a soup kitchen that provides a free meal to anyone seeking it, that serves more than 400 people each evening. A second one is being built in south Wichita.”
“There’s a deep sense of faith and parish involvement that permeates the entire diocese,” said Voboril. “The spread of perpetual Eucharistic adoration, 50 seminarians, some of the best Newman Centers in the country, a dynamic natural family planning office, a ‘free’ restaurant and medical clinic, a growing diocesan order of sisters, one of the largest groups of pilgrims to the March for Life each January — all these testify not to the power of schools that do not charge tuition, but to what happens when everything is united around lived discipleship.”
“The best benefit is that people come to church,” said Voboril. “Between 50%-70% of parishioners and 80% of school students are at Mass every Sunday.”
“In most dioceses, 20% of children in the diocese attend Catholic schools,” said Leticia Nielsen, president of Bishop Carroll High School. “Here, 60% of children attend Catholic schools. We don’t see ourselves as elite prep schools, but diocesan schools serving the broad Catholic community.”
Voboril says that the emphasis on stewardship makes their schools different. That begins with the deep Catholic culture in the Diocese of Wichita’s schools.
“If the parish is funding the school, then the school had better be Catholic first, Catholic every place and Catholic all the time to justify the parish’s large expenditure,” explained Voboril. “This starts with the name of the school, the formation of the teachers, the priority given to quality religious instruction, the infusion of values into the ‘secular’ subjects and activities, and the priority given to mission and core values.”
The differences also extend to the makeup of the schools.
“Because enrollment and the budget are not based upon the user’s ability to pay a steep tuition, we are able to serve a much greater cross-section of the Catholic community,” said Voboril. “We have far more ethnic diversity, socio-economic diversity, and even diversity in learning aptitude.”
“This is how Catholic schools should be,” said Voboril. “They are built around faith. They are built around parish. They are built around community. And they are built around the spirit.”
Tim Drake is the Register's senior writer.
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I’m sorry but the article is missing something out. In the Diocese of Rockville Center we have one perpetual adoration chapel, and much more parishes that Diocese of Wichita. At the same time, there are, if I remeber well, 12 adoration chapels in that Diocese. It is Not the school or method that makes this Diocese so great. It is the Way. It is Christ.
Your Excellency, Bishop Murphy - please promote perpetual adoration in your Diocese. For the sake of His Sorrowful Pasion. For the sake of the sheep you asked to tend. Amen.
Stewardship may not be the only good thing going on in Wichita - see Phil Lawler’s Wichita: the harvest after the ‘Summer of Mercy’?, February 2011.
The success in this story is the health of the diocese across all aspects, not just in the schools. Where there is emphasis on schools before everything else, the is lackadaisical faith.
We have several adoration chapels in the diocese. We also have a strong NFP office. In 1972 our former bishop told priests who dissented from Humanae Vitae that they can leave. He saved us from a lot of nonsense that plagued many other parts of the US. If we keep the faith then the faith will keep us.
Wow! I want to move to that Diocese. I wonder why others don’t do this also?
this is amazing! i love this. Way to go Witchita!
I agree about adoration also being a huge factor in the diocese of Wichita!
Having entered my eighth decade of life and being the product of Catholic Education from Kindergarten through High School I know the priceless value of Catholic Education. As the product of the selfless dedication and sacrifice of so many good Sisters and Priests in my formative years of the 1940’s and 1950’s the Church and they made it possible for all of the many accomplishments that I have achieved throughout my subsequent years. And, along with my parents, they instilled an undying faaith that has brought me through many harrowing situations and challenges. I totally endorse the Wichita Concept of Catholic Education and Parish Life. I would feel much more commited, if we, collectively in my parish commited to the clear obligations of our Faith including educating our young and demonstrating a real love of our neighbor.
Dear Maggie. People where you live need you more than at that Diocese. Any diocese can be changed with at least one person becoming a saint. We are called to become saints for the sake of others. As a matter of fact, we are told that this His plans for us - to become saints. Join in. He will always be with you. Blessings, Greg.
Where sin abounds, so does grace.
I have a hope for Kansas, namely, that its state universities will be the first state schools to go back to single-sex residence halls with a no visitation policy. The educators would likely howl, but they need to be told that educators who have not abdicated from adulthood are the educators we want to draw to Kansas. This would likely raise the quality of education in other ways as well. It is time to open up this front in the defense of life and personal depth. Kansans, start approaching your lawmakers on this cause! And let all Catholic colleges in Kansas get their act together on this matter—following the lead of Catholic University in Washington, where they no longer have coed residence halls!
Greg, you must’ve missed this sentence in the article:“The spread of perpetual Eucharistic adoration…” I don’t think the Bishop is unaware of Who is responsible for all this. Apparently, he’s very clear on it. When given good news, please don’t look for faults, but rejoice with those who have good reason to rejoice.
Dear Tracy:
Thank you so much for being so good to me, and pointing out my blindness. It always amazes me when I am criticized, my pressure rises, and I am awaken to see that I haven’t died to myself as I thought. I desire Truth and at the same time I am being proved that I keep desiring to be right. Shame on me.
Blessings,
Greg.
What this article has left out is that the budget for each parish (that has a school) gives a minimum of 80% to the school. This leaves very little, if anything for other ministries—youth ministry, psr and adult faith formation, liturgy. IF the concept of stewardship were truly practiced there would be an equal division of funds between all formation ministries in a parish, not just a choosen one.
I am a very fortunate man to have grown up and been educated in the Diocese of Wichita with Msgr. McGread. It was not until I became a father myself that I realized the magnitude of this blessing. Now that I am a parishioner in another diocese, I strive to share my experiences about Msgr. McGread’s Stewardship Way of Life and hope that other parishs and diocese can achieve what Wichita has achieved. If you want to invigorate your parish culture with Stewardship, understand two things. 1) Not all parishes and “experts” have the same definition for stewardship—seek the Wichita model.
2) Stewardship is a matter of faith, not finance. The text book for Stewardship is Holy Scripture.
Denise
The reason budgets are not discused in this article is because budgets have little to do with the Stewardship Way of Life. Stewardship is about faith, not finance. It is not about how to pay for parish expenses, it is about realizing all that we have came from God and using those gifts to do His work. You do make an important point that pastors/parish leadership must discern how best to use the gifts bestowed by the parishioners. I will also say the schools are one of the most important ministries of the parish (imo).
The message is that stewardship is tranformational, not transactional. In Pittsburgh our Shepherd, Bishop David Zubik, has an exciting vision of “The Church Alive!” It’s his dream of focusing our parishes on the five fundamentals for a living, vibrant faith community: Eucharist. Evangelization. Catechesis. Formation. And Stewardship. Our people have so much more capacity to share their gifts if we only phrase the conversation in its proper context. It’s NOT about the money! Money doesn’t lead; it FOLLOWS mission! This is a magnificent moment to be alive and to be Catholic! AMDG. -Pat
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