Greetings in Christ, all!
So…in the homily this weekend, I talked about (or am going to talk about!) the campaign that our diocese is running: The Saints and Scholars Campaign.
In the homily, I pointed out that the money raised is going into three funds: the largest for teacher retention and support, the second is for tuition relief, and the third is to help schools meet some needs for special education. The rest of the funds will come back to the parish for those things we need.
I also pointed out that none of the money “goes to the diocese.” The diocese already paid for the campaign and all associated costs. Every penny raised will go directly into the endowments I listed above to be spent specifically on what the money was raised for.
The diocese has given our parish a goal of $2.4 million. If we raise that, we will receive 20% back to our parish ($420,000). The rest will go directly to the endowments.
Here at Holy Family, we asked to add to our goal and so we are seeking $3 million. If we raise $3 million, we will receive $1,020,000 of it.
Why did we add? There is no good way to say this, but we are at a point in the life of our parish campus where we simply must address both normal issues that come up in any property, but also the many areas that have been neglected for a very, very long time. As a result, we have a list of critical needs that simply have to be addressed. Prayer and common sense pointed us to two needs that simply must be addressed as soon as possible: Our Outreach Facility and our drainage issues.
Our previous pastor committed to the City of Grand Blanc that we would demolish our current Outreach facility, as well as all the little barns and garages on our property. We are years past the date that we promised to have them down. We need to get those down and build a structure from which we can care for the poor and store our tools, tractors, etc. That’s our first priority simply because we promised.
Our second priority is our drainage issue. We have a very serious drainage issue that manifests in the area between our church, gym, rectory and office area. This is an extremely destructive problem that has already made the priest’s garage unsavable and if we don’t do something soon, more buildings will be in trouble. I can get into more detail later, but it’s something we absolutely have to address.
Will $1,020,000 solve both issues? Probably not, but we didn’t feel it right to overshoot. At the same time, I am confident that if we all sacrifice appropriately, we can not only hit our goal, but pass it. We simply must pull the rope together.
So, our hope is that we can raise at least $3,000,000 in pledges to meet the goal for the diocese and begin to address these two issues. Please pray. Please contribute.
At this point, only half of our parishioners give regularly to the parish. I want to be clear and sensitive here: if you can’t give, I totally get it. Please pray. We are never unable to pray!
But, if you are in a position to help in any way, I am asking you to do so. Just hitting the goal will help us a lot and I’m even praying we go over; we have a lot of needs here.
I promise you that we are careful with the money you give and are accountable to our diocese and the parish finance council.
I ask for your financial sacrifice with a clear conscience.
You will be getting a letter from our Bishop asking you to participate. We have scheduled a couple of events that you can come to, learn more and hopefully make a pledge. We also have some parish ambassadors who may be calling you to see if you need any more info or assistance in order to pledge. Please pray and plan accordingly.
If you cannot pledge, just let them know when they call; no judgments here. I trust that everyone will be doing their best and praying for the success of the campaign is a huge gift.
Thank you so much. I am so grateful to God for you.
Fjk