CHARITY AND DEVELOPMENT APPEAL 2009
Halfway point reached in $10.2 mil goal
Pastors, parish leaders key to illustrating CDA needs
By Ambria Hammel | March 5, 2009 | The Catholic Sun
The troubled economy hasn’t stopped local Catholics from
investing in the Church’s mission and the needs of the community.
After only three weeks of parish participation, Catholics at parishes throughout the diocese have pledged nearly 61 percent of their $10.2 million goal for the 2009 diocesan Charity and Development Appeal.
That’s about 1 percent behind where the appeal was at this point last year. People continue to step forward to help the more than 70 diocesan and other charitable agencies funded by the CDA.
“Giving generously of one’s resources is hard and frightening at any time, but especially during a difficult and uncertain environment,” said Bishop Thomas J. Olmsted.
“We shall do so, however, only if we have a deep trust in God,” the bishop said. “A lively personal friendship with Christ builds such trust and moves us to be generous stewards of God’s gifts.”
More than 26,000 families at various parishes have shown their trust in God by donating to the CDA. St. Margaret Parish in Tempe was the first to reach its parish goal this year. Parishioners exceeded their financial goal by 15.3 percent.
Franciscan Father Matthew Krempel, pastor of St. Mary Parish in Kingman, joked that his parishioners responded well during the first weeks of the 2009 appeal because they wanted to be the first to meet their goal as they did last year. While St. Margaret beat them to it, the parish is well within its goal.
“I do have a very good team that is very organized and divided into subcommittees,” Fr. Krempel said.
He expects that some of the parish’s CDA leaders will begin their follow-up work soon. They’ll call fellow parishioners who haven’t pledged to financially or prayerfully support the CDA to remind them of the ongoing appeal and ways they can support it.
Fr. Krempel and other parish leaders continue to promote the appeal each weekend from the pulpit. He added a personal touch to the appeal when it kicked off at parishes in February.
Fr. Krempel pointed out that his former classmate, Franciscan Father Dale Jamison, was in this year’s CDA video, which was shown in parishes last month. He gave parishioners a quick behind-the-scenes insight into the many diocesan needs that the CDA helps meet by talking about the 45,000 miles that Fr. Jamison puts on his car each year to minister on the reservations.
CDA funding helps offset such operational costs for the Office of Native American Ministry and dozens of others within the diocese.
Fr. Hans Ruygt, pastor of St. Clare of Assisi Parish in Surprise, and his team of CDA leaders helped the parish’s 2,900 families come within 2.2 percent of its financial goal after the first two weeks. Fr. Ruygt said it helped to not only tell, but show why they should give.
“This year everyone understood ‘why’ because I showed the CDA video before Mass,” Fr. Ruygt said.
The nearly eight-minute video — which many parishes played this month and is available online — highlights the need and impact CDA funding has on missions, parishes, ministries and other local charitable organizations.
Catholic Charities is one of those organizations that benefits from the CDA. Fr. Ruygt said having Paul Martodam, CEO of Catholic Charities Community Services, speak during Mass immediately following the CDA video helped parishioners make a real connection to the need.
“We are also very organized and have repeated our announcements, encouraging everyone to fill out their donor cards every Sunday,” Fr. Ruygt said.
His parish is among many that continue to support the CDA despite their own financial struggles to raise money to build and furnish a new church.
Fr. Greg Menegay, pastor of St. Mary Magdalene Parish in Gilbert, said parishioners there embrace stewardship and have a heart for others. Parishioners are within about 7.5 percent of their CDA goal.
Fr. Menegay said it’s important to look beyond parish boundaries.
“There are so many struggling parishes and programs that would not exist without CDA funding,” Fr. Menegay said. “I have told them that if all of us can give even a little for the CDA, we can all help our community.”
Fr. Dennis O’Rourke, pastor of St. Gabriel the Archangel Parish in Cave Creek, agreed that responding generously to community needs is an essential call of Catholics.
“It is important here at St. Gabriel Parish to respond early this year,” he said, “not only because of what we can offer to others but because with Lent, we all need to represent our own stewardship and almsgiving showing our love for God and our neighbor.”
Catholics at St. Jerome Parish also understand the need to share with others, especially in times of struggle. Eudist Father Andrés Arango, pastor, noticed that the parish community is getting stronger as it comes together to help others.
“As we understand that we are ‘One Family in Christ,’ we have to work together with our prayers and our commitment to each other,” Fr. Arango said. “It is that faith in the family that is Christ which will allow good to prevail.”
