October 22, 2021
Dear Friends,
Usually in the morning, as I am getting ready for my day, I tend to have music playing throughout the rectory. More often than not, I am listening to a Christian music station. The music is uplifting, and honestly, I never have to worry about what is going to be said as I listen. In the fall and again in the spring, they do their pledge drive in which they ask listeners to make a donation to help fund their ministry. They tell stories about the people who have helped and influenced the work they have done and sometimes what their future plans are. As the days go on, listening to the ongoing requests, it seems like it is never going to end. While I appreciate the music and everything associated with it, two weeks of fundraising does tend to numb me to their requests.
I use the above example because I feel like this very thing is part of what influences how I try to do things at the parish level. While during the pandemic I feel like I was slightly more focused on the parish finances for obvious reasons, we do our best to keep the financial conversations at a minimum. Sometimes I succeed, sometimes I fail. As we continue through the fall, we have our fall fundraiser for the parish (you should be seeing a mailing in the coming days), as well as the Diocesan Ministry Appeal (DMA).
If you have supported the DMA in the past, you most likely have seen a mailing, from a few weeks back. If you have been reading our bulletin each week, you are aware of the work of the DMA and how it helps those in need in our diocese. The appeal helps support Catholic Education for our inner-city schools. It helps fund the many works and ministries of Catholic Charities. It helps with healthcare for our retired priests, as well as Seminarian Education. The appeal is something that we, as a parish, are called to support. While our parish does have a goal that needs to be met, the more important thing to me as your pastor is that you do whatever is in your means to help those who are in need in our own diocesan community. Next week, is the in-pew commitment weekend for the appeal. I ask that over the course of this week, you consider how you are able to support this cause. If you want further information about the appeal you can watch this video which talks about it. https://vimeo.com/624794513
If you’ve made it this far, thank you. Your reward will be this whimsy. Why can you never find elephants hiding in trees? Because they are really good at it.
God Bless,
Fr. Brian