The fourth annual Regional Stewardship Conference will be held on Saturday, April 23, at the Savannah DeSoto Hilton.

Sponsored by the Archdiocese of Atlanta and the Dioceses of Charlotte, Charleston, Raleigh and Savannah, the conference will help bring the stewardship message to life with keynote speaker Father Dan Mahan, pastor of St. Louis Church in Batesville, Ind.

Father Mahan began serving as a parish priest in 1989. Since that time he has taken the stewardship message to the three parishes where he has served as pastor. Currently, as shepherd of a parish with 1,500 families, he promotes stewardship as a spiritual way of life that draws his parishioners into a deeper relationship with Jesus.

Stewardship education is a priority for Father Mahan, which is exemplified by his position as faculty member and director of formation for the Summer and Winter Institutes of the International Catholic Stewardship Council.

The breakout sessions will cover a wide array of topics and provide concrete ideas for promoting stewardship in the parish. Pastors, parishioners and committee members looking for a fresh new approach after several years of promoting parish stewardship should attend a session entitled “Keeping it Alive,” by Dan Loughman, director of stewardship for the Diocese of Wichita, Kan. In addition to serving as the diocesan director of stewardship, Loughman is also a member of a vibrant parish that began promoting stewardship over 30 years ago.

Jim Kelley, director of development for the Diocese of Charlotte and internationally recognized speaker on stewardship, will cover the formation and responsibilities of the parish stewardship committee in his talk.

In response to many requests from small, rural parishes to address their stewardship needs, Father George Kloster, pastor of St. William Church in Murphy, N.C., and Immaculate Heart of Mary Church in Hayesville, N.C., will share his successful approach to stewardship.

Msgr. Patrick Bishop of Transfiguration Church in Marietta will team with Deacon Bill Hampton of St. Matthew Church in Sharpsburg to speak about hospitality from both a large and small parish perspective in their session.

One session will feature lay witness talks by Don Bray of Fayetteville, N.C., and Laura Graban of Winston-Salem, N.C. Barbara Gaddy, associate director of development in Charlotte, will highlight important aspects of their talks and speak about recruiting and training the stewardship lay witness.

The education of children and youth is an important aspect of the total parish stewardship effort. Mimi Jurgielewicz, director of religious education at the Church of the Nativity in Charleston, S.C., will share her unique program of calling young people to action in “Catholic Kids Guide to Stewardship.”

A post-conference tour of the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist followed by Mass will bring prayerful closure to the day.

Conference planners hope that participants will return to their own parishes with a renewed emphasis on living and promoting stewardship as a way of life—a life of real Christian discipleship.