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The 60th annual Bishop's Appeal to benefit the Albany Diocese's diverse ministries and programs kicks off in most parishes this weekend, April 26-27.

Leaders hope the generosity of last year's donors continues in 2014, since the need for assistance in diocesan offices, Catholic schools and Catholic Charities organizations remains high.

In a letter to parishes, Bishop Edward B. Scharfenberger wrote about learning of the Diocese's "magnificent tradition of generosity...in implementing the divine mission of the Church to 'teach, to protect, to heal and to sanctify.'"

The new Bishop continued: "I learned that last year, despite the economic hardships facing many in our parishes, the Bishop's Appeal exceeded the campaign goal for the first time in seven years, thus enabling the agencies and ministries of the Church to extend the loving heart of Jesus to thousands of people in a variety of ways."

The 2013 appeal, which closed out at the end of March, brought in more than $7.2 million.

"We were very, very happy with the numbers last year," said Tom Prindle, executive director of development for the Diocese. "It's been rising gradually. We don't have this enormous donor hemorrhage that we've had in the past. It seems to be stabilizing."

Who gets funds
The appeal benefits:

•  education, through the diocesan Catholic Schools Office and the Office of Evangelization, Catechesis and Family Life; the latter provides training and resources to parish evangelization teams, training for programs that welcome people returning to the Catholic faith, catechist training and certification, planning of the annual Spring Enrichment program, the Christian Leadership Institute for youth, retreats and service programs for young Catholics, marriage preparation and enrichment programs and support groups for the divorced and separated;

•  the Vocations Office, which provides discernment and educational opportunities for men and women thinking about religious life, such as the Called by Name initiative, which surfaced 90 men who are now actively discerning a vocation to the priesthood;

•  pastoral services like apostolates and ethnic ministries, college campus ministry, the Communications Office, the Office of Prayer and Worship, Scouting and more;

•  religious personnel development through consultations, initial and ongoing formation, the permanent diaconate and support services for priests and religious communities;

•  support for capital building projects, archives, real estate matters, information technology assistance, human resources and more; and

•  responsibilities to the larger Church.

Help for struggling
The Bishop's Appeal also supports Catholic Charities services. Agencies in rural counties are in particular need now: "Once-thriving communities have, in many areas, lost their core industries, often forcing those who can to move elsewhere and others into poverty and despair," noted information distributed on the appeal. "Even when employment is found, low wages will force a person into the ranks of the working poor, making it difficult, if not impossible, for them to make ends meet.

"Since 2008, the Great Recession deepened the stress on fragile upstate communities within our diocese. Compounding economic challenges have been the recent natural disasters of hurricanes and major flooding."

Catholic Charities provides emergency services like housing, transportation, food and clothing during a time when public assistance is being cut.

"Those safety nets have been removed for people," Mr. Prindle said. "They come knocking on the doors of the Church. We all work together to keep the Church going forward. There's a lot going on behind the scenes."[[In-content Ad]]

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