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Making an appeal to share gifts with others By Michael D. Wamble Time. Talent. Treasure. These three T’s are the gifts of Christian stewardship. But only one of the three can keep a parish’s lights on, print liturgical materials in multiple languages, put a meal before a hunger-stricken person or do any other things that take money. For that, there is the Annual Catholic Appeal, this year set for March 18-19. “If a person’s talent is music, then one could put that gift to use in the choir. If one’s gift is working with children, then one could become a catechist. As individuals, all of us have some gifts,” said Tim Dockery, director of development services. Cardinal George explained further in a letter to parishes. “Our health, our family and friends, our education, our vocation—all these are gifts we have been given. In turn, God calls us to use these gifts fully and to share them with others,” he wrote. Dockery said, “Just as we are asked to share other gifts, we are asked to share material gifts.” On the weekend of March 18-19, archdiocesan parishes will take up a special collection for the Year 2000 Annual Catholic Appeal. In 1999, the appeal goal was $6 million. It raised $6.7 million. With this year’s goal of $7 million, Dockery and Ray Coughlin, archdiocesan director of stewardship and development, are appealing to all Catholics to help existing programs continue to touch the lives of the people of Cook and Lake counties. Though the goal is admittedly ambitious, both are “cautiously optimistic” that it is obtainable. Since 1998, the number of appeal donors increased from 70,000 to 90,000. What they are more certain of is the need to reach that goal. “People should understand that the money raised by the appeal doesn’t go [to the Archdiocesan Pastoral Center] downtown and stay there. The money turns right back around to go into communities. It keeps the lights on in some parishes,” said Coughlin. Twenty-five percent of the appeal is allocated to parishes as grants. A third supports archdiocesan leadership and pastoral services. Along with supporting various archdiocesan programs, 12.7 percent, roughly $700,000, of the appeal aids the international work of Catholic Relief Services. For economically depressed areas, a Catholic parish and school can stabilize a neighborhood’s economic base and attitudinal outlook, said Coughlin. “In many cases, Catholic parishes and schools are the anchors
of somewhat financially depressed communities. They keep neighborhoods
vibrant. They provide services that keep families hopeful,” he
said. “What we want to do is keep the faith in these places. We want to keep our faith available to people in economically-challenged parishes,” he said. “We don’t have an option when it comes to helping the poor. We must do our best to provide capital support to those in need.” Coughlin said it is this support that enables agencies and parishes to offer food pantries, set up homeless shelters and run after-school programs in neighborhoods. On the Near North Side, at DePaul University and in the Little Village neighborhood, the appeal invests in Amate House, a project that offers young people the opportunity to do volunteer ministery. Explaining their success in attracting so-called “Generation X” young adults to a program in which volunteers give a year in service, Christina Zaker, Amate House executive director, told The Catholic New World in 1998, “They are doing something countercultural. It’s volunteering and seeing some of the worst things people can see. It’s having your heart broken every day.” Dockery said volunteer opportunities like Amate House open people to the importance of contributing to the appeal. “When people get involved in programs, when they give their time, suddenly they see the ways in which the archdiocese meets needs and challenges.” While all are asked to make an appeal pledge, Dockery said those who can lead the campaign are encouraged to join two special groups: the Bishop’s Society and Lumen Cordium Society. One can become a member of the Bishop’s Society with a pledge of $250 or more. Lumen Cordium Society members are called to pledges of $1,000 or more. Society members are invited by Cardinal George to a Mass and reception in their honor. They also receive a Lumen Cordium Society 2000 pin and certificate. The appeal also helps the archdiocese in its mission as an inclusive church. “Persons with developmental disabilities are capable of faith,” said Father James McCarthy, director of the SPRED program. With over 600 catechists in 100 parish centers, the appeal invests in special religious education in the archdiocese, through a program that continues to spread the Good News to developmentally disabled children. “It’s difficult to single out any one program or agency and say this is why one should make a pledge to the annual appeal,” said Coughlin. “But if we had to hang our hat on any one program, it would be one that embodied the message to ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ And again, that would be all of them.” More on the Annual Catholic Appeal can be found at the website www.annualcatholicappeal.com
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