Some questions and answers on the Witness to Hope campaign
When does the campaign start? In some ways it has started already. Our parish campaign director Donna Marino has been coming to our offices a few days a week. She is working with Fr. Gary and me and is also organizing some home gatherings so we can visit with parishioners about the campaign.
Are we the only parish doing this campaign? All 81 parishes in the diocese are doing the Witness to Hope campaign. Our parish is one of 16 parishes in the “pilot wave,” so essentially we are going first!
How much money does our parish hope to raise? $4 million is our overall goal. If we raise $4 million, our parish share will be $2.66 million. The remainder will go to the wider church to support Catholic school scholarships, seminarians, retired priests and evangelization programs.
$4 million dollars is a lot of money! Do you really think we can raise that? Yes! If everyone pitches in, even if it’s a little, and with prayer and faith, all things are possible.
So, what do you hope to do with the money raised from the campaign? Lots! There are many things to do, but hopefully breaking it down between the Church and the outside will help. For the Church we would like to add a gathering space, a new permanent baptismal font at the entrance of the Church, refurbish the pews, and add a covered drop-off area. On the outside, we would like to combine the Outreach Center with a new garage, repave the parking lots, and beautify the campus with landscaping along Saginaw Street and other places. And we would love to add a new small hall connected to the Church (wouldn’t it be nice to go right from the Church to a connected hall?!).
What will be the priorities? That’s a great question! That’s something that we pray about all the time. Do we start with the Outreach Center or do we start with the Church? It really depends on how much money we raise during this campaign. Once we know, then the priorities will fall more into place.
Do you have a schedule? All volunteers from the parish will be invited to a meeting on Thursday, September 8, to learn about the campaign. On the weekend of September 24/25 we will formally announce the campaign at all the Masses. A full schedule will follow in the next bulletin (September 4th).
When will we be able to see the drawings of the projects? In early September renditions of some possible capital improvements will be on display in our Church and other areas.
Other News:
Book Club: Our seminarian in residence, Alberto Nickerson, is an avid reader. Someone suggested to him to start a book club and so he is. The first gathering will be on September 15. The first book on the docket is Evelyn Waugh’s classic, Brideshead Revisited.
Euchre: Received a very nice thank you from Fr. John Linden. He heads our vocation office at the diocese. He thanked the parish for their generous contributions to help support training our seminarians through our euchre nights. Thanks, everyone! Our next euchre night is September 30.
Buying dinner: This weekend was the Crim Race. I received a lot of comments from others about me buying dinner for anyone who beat Fr. Gary (you probably heard that when Fr. Gary found this out, he planned on walking). I’m curious to find out if anyone did really have a better time than Fr. Gary and, if they did, I hope they like “happy meals.”
Olympics: The other day the Bishop family came to Mass with all smiles on their faces. When I asked them what was up, Ray, the father, mentioned that he had designed the helmet worn by Olympic Gold Medal Cyclist Kristin Armstrong. That’s really neat! Congratulations! He has designed helmets worn by other athletes, including Red Wings goaltender Jimmy Howard.
Open House: Our school is having an open house on Tuesday, August 30, from 1 – 3 p.m. Our parent teacher organization is providing ice cream too! This is an opportunity for students to drop off their school supplies. Hope to see you there.
Hope you are enjoying the beautiful weather. May God bless you and your families as we prepare for the school year.
In Christ’s love,
Msgr. Jerry
Matthew 11:11 “Truly I say to you, among those born of women there has not arisen anyone greater than John the Baptist! Yet the one who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.”
(The Feast of the Passion of St. John the Baptist is August 29)