Hope in the midst of turmoil highlighted at campaign celebration
David Milroy, a member of St. Bartholomew Parish in Columbus, gives a presentation on Oct. 21 at St. Monica Parish in Indianapolis about the investments overseen by the Catholic Community Foundation (CCF). The presentation took place during a celebration of the success of the Legacy for Our Mission: For Our Children and the Future campaign and the annual meeting of the CCF board of directors. (Photo by Sean Gallagher)
By Sean Gallagher
Catholics from across the archdiocese gathered at St. Monica Parish in Indianapolis on Oct. 21 to celebrate the successful conclusion of the Legacy for Our Mission: For Our Children and the Future capital stewardship campaign.
Coinciding with the celebration was the annual meeting of the Catholic Community Foundation (CCF), which manages 356 endowments that support the ministry of archdiocesan parishes, schools and agencies.
Highlighted during the evening was the fact that $104 million was raised through Legacy for Our Mission, and that corporations and foundations gave an additional $10 million through the campaign.
It was also noted that the assets of the CCF stood, as of June 30, at $151 million, which shows a strong record of growth from the $20 million it held in 1995, archdiocesan officials said.
Economic turmoil
The celebration occurred in the midst of a national economic downturn the likes of which have not been seen in decades, and this crisis was on the minds of many who spoke at the event.
“The recent turmoil in the financial markets and our economy has caused anxiety, and it’s causing real pain for some people,” said Archbishop Daniel M. Buechlein. “We need to be sure that we stay attentive to this suffering through prayer and that we try to do what we can to help relieve it when we can through the appropriate use of our ministry resources.”
During the meeting of CCF’s board of directors, the board’s outgoing president, Immaculate Heart of Mary parishioner James Schellinger of Indianapolis, spoke confidently about the foundation’s ability to weather the storm.
“We’ll get through it,” he said. “We just need to understand as we go into this next calendar year what the possible implications of the economic downturn are for the archdiocese.
“What are the possible pro-active measures that we can take in light of this so that we can continue to thrive as the Catholic Community Foundation?”
St. Bartholomew parishioner David Milroy of Columbus, the CCF’s incoming president and the chair of its investment committee, spoke later about the reason for this confidence.
He noted that the stock markets have just finished one of their worst 10-year periods in the last 100 years and, despite that, the CCF’s assets annually grew by an average of eight and a half percent since the inception of the current investment structure in January 1995.
“What I get really excited about is that we did that after coming through the 10 worst years you can imagine in the equity market,” Milroy said. “It’s reasonable to expect that over the next 10 years, we should have above average in returns. How much nicer will it be to have that from a base of $150 million than it would be with a base of $20 million.”
Showing gratitude
Although the crisis in the economy was on the minds of many, it didn’t dampen the gratitude that they felt for the generosity shown by Catholics across the archdiocese through Legacy for Our Mission.
Deacon Steven Gretencord, who ministers at Sacred Heart of Jesus Parish in Terre Haute, has a good reason to have a strong sense of that gratitude.
He was a member of the first class of 25 men ordained as permanent deacons in the history of the archdiocese. They were ordained on June 28 at SS. Peter and Paul Cathedral in Indianapolis after completing a four-year formation program funded in part by the campaign.
Deacon Gretencord was present for the Legacy for Our Mission celebration at St. Monica.
“It’s a wonderful experience to have a cross section of the archdiocese all gathered together,” he said. “We had one focus. We had one mission. And we have one celebration to one God, a triune God.”
Sacred Heart parishioner Randy Alexander of Terre Haute, who was also present at the celebration, was a co-chair for the campaign in his parish.
“I’m proud to have worked on it,” Alexander said. “There’s a lot of work that goes into it that people don’t realize. We had a lot of parishioners that helped out. It was good to be a part of it.”
Alexander was one of some 14,000 people across central and southern Indiana who volunteered their time to make Legacy for Our Mission a success.
In his remarks during the celebration, Archbishop Buechlein showed his gratitude to Alexander and other campaign supporters who were in attendance. He also reminded those present of the real focus of the campaign.
“Many of you here tonight have been involved with the campaign right from the start, and I really can’t thank you enough for your dedication, your perseverance,” he said. “And remember, all of this is to further Christ’s mission in our local Church.”
(For more information about the Legacy for Our Mission: For Our Children and the Future campaign or the Catholic Community Foundation, log on to either www.archindy.org/legacy or www.archindy.org/ccf.) †
