Parish Life and Ministries

Published

FFHL Logo

May 12, 2014

Issue 32

Parish Life and Ministries

Thanks to funds raised through Forward in Faith, Hope, and Love, pastors throughout the diocese are able to identify and complete key capital improvement projects that not only stabilize their facilities and ease financial burdens, but also allow them to continue neighborhood charity and evangelization.

Such is the case for St. John Neumann Parish in Charlotte. With hopes to renovate parish offices in order to provide more space for the Food Pantry ministry, parishioners responded generously. The parish concluded its campaign in the Fall of 2013, and has raised $1,205,971 to date. Already the parish has received disbursements from paid commitments. St. John Neumann’s Food Pantry is a beacon of hope, providing more than 200 families with assistance each year. St. John Neumann hopes to expand the Pantry to not only include food, but also clothing.

“I am so grateful for the support parishioners have given the Forward in Faith, Hope, and Love effort. At St. John Neumann, most parishioners truly gave sacrificially and not from surplus – but I am not surprised. We have a generous parish family in terms of time, talent, and treasure. That is why the Food Pantry has been so successful. Each week, parishioners gather to serve others and fulfill Christ’s mission. I pray for the success of the overall campaign, and for all those parishes actively campaigning, as I can already see how beneficial gifts made will be to our parish” says Fr. Pat Hoare.

The Parish Life and Ministries case component, which accounts for $16.25 million for distribution to parishes, demonstrates the diocese’s commitment to the economic stability and vitality of its parishes.

Campaign Statistics

  

*A portion of the Leadership Gifts Phase total raised is shared with parishes, therefore the overall total is less than the sum of the individual phases. 

Individual parishes were offered the opportunity to set a challenge goal over and above their FFHL goal. In addition, parishes receive a benefit from surpassing their regular FFHL goal. All dollars raised are included in these totals.

* Retired, but pastor when campaign was conducted. 

Good News
Block Two

St. Eugene in Asheville surpassed the parish goal this week of $1,087,750!  Over the last few months, Fr. Pat Cahill and ambassadors have been meeting with fellow parishioners to educate them on the Forward in Faith, Hope, and Love effort and the local project of building seven new classrooms at Asheville Catholic School. Fr. Pat will be sharing this initiative with the whole parish this week at their parish-wide kick-off.

Fr. Vincent Finnerty at Our Lady of Guadalupe in Charlotte hosted a successful Public Announcement last weekend. He was joined by more than 2,000 families at the parish who were excited about the parish’s plan to build a new sanctuary. In the coming weeks, families will have an opportunity to make a commitment during Mass through three back-to-back in-pew appeals.

Ambassadors at St. Thomas Aquinas in Charlotte have begun sharing the Forward in Faith, Hope and Love initiative with parish families.  This week they welcomed their first gifts to the effort.  St. Thomas Aquinas will be using their parish share to make improvements and enhancements to their sanctuary.

The Leadership Team at St. Matthew in Charlotte is excited about the progress of their campaign. On a recent visit with an Ambassador, a parishioner shared his inspiration to participate in this historic effort, “We talked for an hour and half about the diocesan growth and needs, the strategic objective of this campaign, St. Matthew, St. Matthew South, and so on. More importantly we talked about our faith, shared our life journeys, what we’ve experienced that served to grow and build our faith.  He cares about his fellow men and women, both those he knows and those who would greatly benefit from knowing God and His Son.  He believes deeply in the Catholic Church.”

Congratulations to Holy Spirit for surpassing the parish goal of $740,000!  Thanks to the hard work of Fr. Carmen Malacari and the team of Ambassadors in Denver, the parish will now receive more than 50% of each additional pledge for the construction of a new Church!

Fr. Frank Seabo has been humbled by the generosity of his parish volunteers. At Holy Infant (Reidsville), every volunteer has made a sacrificial commitment to the campaign, bringing them to 28% of goal in just three weeks. Ambassadors look forward to inviting the entire parish to be involved to fulfill their dream of a new parish center.