Bishop's Appeal funds education, charity in Diocese

The theme of this year's campaign is "Let us Build the City of God: Continuing the Work of Christ in our Time," a reminder to Catholics of the importance of supporting the Church in its ministry, according to Richard Green from the diocesan Bishop's Appeal Office.

"The theme asks each of us to be more pro-active in cooperating with God in building the City of God, to go beyond our comfortable living and act on our profession of faith," he said. "Basically, we try to create that link of faith between the Bishop and members of the Diocese so that essential programs and services beyond the means of one parish can be delivered more effectively and efficiently."

Last year's Appeal raised more than $6.6 million, good for 15th place among U.S. dioceses and archdioceses that conduct such a campaign.

An ideal way to give to the Bishop's Appeal, said Mr. Green, is the four-payment pledge plan by which contributors select a pledge level -- the recommended pledge is $5 weekly -- and make an optional down payment at Appeal time. The Bishop's Appeal Office then sends payment reminders in July, September, November and January.

The donations to the Appeal are used for several purposes that benefit donors or their families:

* Almost $2 million, or 29 percent of last year's total, supported faith formation and Catholic education. The Diocese has 38 elementary schools with 8,634 students, four high schools with 1,620 students, and 714 full-time teachers. These Catholic schools benefit from many services provided by the diocesan Catholic Schools Office, including teacher and administrative training, budget assistance, and curriculum development.

* There are 32,887 elementary students taking part in religious education, 9,778 high schoolers enrolled in religious education, and 5,438 catechists, 78 youth ministers and 198 catechetical leaders. The diocesan Office of Evangelization and Catechesis provides parishes with the processes, programs and resources to help children, youth and adults know their faith, grow in moral and liturgical formation, and become people of prayer, builders of community and disciples of Jesus.

* Faith formation and education also includes 15 campus ministry chapters, with 19 chaplains serving students on college campuses.

* Clergy formation and support programs received $1.2 million, or 18 percent. There are eight seminarians studying for priesthood, 17 men preparing for the diaconate, and 89 deacons doing charitable and service work. The Appeal also supports continuing education of priests.

* The 1999 Bishop's Appeal supported the commissioning of 66 lay ministers to parish ministry, and is preparing 97 lay men and women for ministry in their parishes through the Formation for Ministry Program.

* The Bishop's recent TV retreat, produced by the diocesan Media Office, and the diocesan web page, designed by the diocesan Information Resources Office, are two support services helped by the Appeal.

* Catholic Charities, the human services and social justice office of the Diocese, operates a network of 20 agencies, including Community Maternity Services, AIDS Services, Hispanic Outreach Services, the Housing Office and Charities centers in most counties of the Diocese.

* Pastoral Services benefits 68 hospital and nursing home chaplains in the Diocese, the Family Life Office, Consultation Center, Office of Prayer and Worship, Diocesan Pastoral Council, and Hispanic Apostolate.

The Bishop's Appeal doesn't support just diocesan programs, Mr. Green pointed out. Each parish keeps 50 percent of any money exceeding its goal.

"Ultimately, everything we have is a gift from God," he said. "When we give without expecting something in return, we detach ourselves from our comforts and trust in God. We see the reality of the world from a different perspective."

(04-27-00) [[In-content Ad]]