Dear Epiphany Parishioners,
Now that we have officially relaunch our capital campaign, Celebrating our Faith as Children of God, this past weekend, I wanted to answer a few frequently asked questions, namely: 1) What does it mean to make a sacrificial gift?, and 2) How does my family make a pledge to the capital campaign?
First, what does it mean to give sacrificially in our faith? Since the very first Book of the Bible in Genesis, from the beginning, Man was to make sacrificial offerings to God as a sign of His goodness and generosity to us. In the story of the very first children of Adam and Eve, Cain and Abel, scripture teaches us that there is a right way and a wrong way to make sacrifices. Abel offered the best firstling of his flock and that sacrifice was pleasing in the eyes of God, while Cain’s offering from the fruit of the soil was not so pleasing to God. Jesus later clarified for us how to make a sacrificial offering when He said: This poor widow gave more than all the others, for they gave of their surplus while she contributed all she had, her whole livelihood (Mark 12:43). Saint Mother Teresa explains sacrificial giving best when she said: Love means to be willing to give until it hurts.
In this capital campaign, we are asking every parish family to give a sacrificial offering from their heart and from their faith. Our campaign goal of $6 million dollars is based on every family making a four-year pledge, which can be paid any time before December of 2025. So far, 242 families have already made a sacrificial pledge offering, totally $2.8 million towards our $6 million goal. That is truly giving sacrificially from the heart!
The second frequently asked question that I wanted to answer is:
How do I make a pledge to the campaign? There are two easy ways to make your pledge. You can fill out a
pledge card. If you did not receive a pledge card in the mail, you can pick one up in the church. Once you complete the form, mail the pledge card to the parish office or drop the pledge card in the weekly Sunday collection at Mass. You can also make a pledge
on-line by filling out the form at our parish website:
epiphanycatholic.org/capital-campaign-pledge And once you have made a pledge, the 4-year redemption period begins in December of this year, but you can always make an initial deposit or regular payments by sending a check to the parish office or through Faith Direct. You can call the parish office and ask to speak with our campaign manager, John Dillin, with any questions. We also plan to provide you with additional information on payment of your pledge in a later email. For now, we ask that every family send in their pledge to help our parish make our campaign goal in the coming weeks.
May the love of Christ and the heart of the Virgin Mary always remain close to our lives as we invoke the deepest blessings of the Lord over all of God's children.
Devotedly yours in Christ,
Rev. Tom Lam
Pastor