Outreach Within the Church
 
Outreach is part of who we are as Catholics.  It includes the corporal and spiritual works of mercy but also any act of charity.  I know it has been an important part of St. John Vianney parish.  I know this firsthand, from when I served as pastor of Sacred Heart in Cicero, and I saw all the food that was brought to the Sacred Heart Food Pantry by the parishioners of St. John Vianney.  It made a great difference.  Since arriving, I have also learned of your outreach to people in Anderson.  This is a testament to your faith in Christ and love of God and His Church.
 
This weekend I want to call your attention to other ministries beyond our parish to which we are asked to support.  This is outreach within our diocese and benefits us.
 
First, you have received or will receive an envelope for the Catholic Ministries Appeal.  Please don’t throw it away!  It has a return address in Maine so it may be confused with junk mail.  If you did throw it away, we do have extras that we can provide you.  This is a new appeal, and it replaces previous diocesan appeals such as Fruitful Harvest and the Seminarian Fund Appeal.  The Catholic Ministries Appeal is a request for all of us to help with Diocesan Supported Ministries and Ministries to Parishes within our diocese, from which we benefit.   Let me briefly explain what this appeal supports.
 
Most people don’t realize the number of ministries and programs that our diocese funds, conducts and supports.  One area I would like to highlight is the one with which I am most familiar. Since I just completed nine years as Vicar for Clergy, I am very familiar with ways priests, deacons and seminarians are supported through the diocese.  For example, this appeal helps provide supplemental health insurance to the 20 + retired diocesan priests of our diocese.  It provides for priest retreats, priest convocations, retreats for deacons and their wives, ongoing education of priests, counseling for priests in crisis, and support for priests serving in diocesan assignments.  It helps with costs for vocational recruitment, training permanent deacons, and educating seminarians. 
 
There are many ways individual parishes and groups are also served.  Parish services include help with oversight on building projects like our master plan and the building of our next phase of the campus.  The training program for lay leaders in the Latino Community, as well as much Hispanic ministry, is funded through this appeal.  Campus ministry at three college campuses receives funds from this appeal.  Individuals seeking an annulment are helped through this appeal and thus they are not charged fees for the annulment process.  These are just some highlights.  
 
Sometimes, for various reasons, people say, “I don’t want to support the bishop.”  I understand how people may come to those feelings, and would welcome a conversation with you to hear your concerns; maybe provide you a broader context with which to see his ministry.  Regardless, know that money given to the diocese doesn’t go to the bishop himself.  It goes to people, programs, parishes and staff that keep our church running. 
 
As with all appeals we are given a goal.  I will explain more about this during the kick-off and commitment weekend of Sept. 19-20.  Our goal is $59,739.  Unlike previous appeals, there isn’t any formula for rebates and overage.  There is no dovetail.  It is simply our goal.  I ask that everyone (including the priests) do our part to help reach this goal.  Please note that the goals for St. John Vianney and Holy Spirit are separate.  Please also note, each parish will continue to have separate finances, finance council, and books.  The pastorate is NOT a merging of parishes or parish resources.  More on what being part of pastorate means will come in a later bulletin article. 
 
Finally, please pray before deciding how to respond.  What is God asking of you?  That is what I will be doing prior to making my pledge.  We can all help with this outreach within our diocese.
 
“At the end of our life, we shall all be judged by charity.” ~ St. John of the Cross
 
Yours in Christ,
Fr. Dale