Intention weekend for Called to Serve is Nov. 1-2
By Sean Gallagher
“Awe-inspiring.”
That is how Deacon Lawrence French feels when he considers how thousands of Catholics across central and southern Indiana supported the four years of formation he and 24 other men received as the first class of permanent deacons in the history of the Archdiocese of Indianapolis.
Their formation culminated in their historic ordination on June 28 at SS. Peter and Paul Cathedral in Indianapolis.
“You just cannot put it into words the number of people that have touched my life and the lives of the other 24 guys that we’ll never be able to thank enough,” said Deacon French, who ministers at St. Maurice Parish in Napoleon in the Batesville Deanery.
The generosity of so many Catholics that touched Deacon French’s heart came to him and his fellow deacons in an important way through the annual Called to Serve: 2008-09 Parish Stewardship and United Catholic Appeal.
On Nov. 1-2, Catholics across the archdiocese will be invited to show that generosity again in the “Intention Weekend” for this year’s appeal.
Members of all 151 archdiocesan parishes have received letters from their pastors or parish life coordinators with an enclosed intention card to be turned in at parishes this weekend.
The card is designed to help parishioners not only plan how they will contribute financially to Called to Serve, but also how they might take part in new ways in their parish’s ministries.
Through funds raised in Called to Serve, the archdiocese hopes to raise $5.5 million to support ministries that are shared by all archdiocesan parishes as well as home missions in central and southern Indiana.
Formation of the archdiocese’s second class of 18 deacon aspirants and ongoing formation of the first class of 25 deacons is one example of the parishes’ shared ministries.
Another is the broad range of charitable ministries carried out in west central Indiana through Catholic Charities Terre Haute.
According to John Etling, Catholic Charities Terre Haute agency director, approximately 30,000 people a year are served through its Bethany House (an emergency homeless shelter), its Food Bank and Christmas Store, and at Ryves Youth Center at Etling Hall.
“The diversity of donors is probably only matched by the diversity of the clientele that comes in for help,” said Etling. “What we do is merely an extension of those who donate and help in our efforts.”
Etling is impressed by the fact that Catholics across 39 counties in central and southern Indiana are so generous in supporting the important ministry of charity in the seven counties in and around Terre Haute.
“You’re making a donation with the full knowledge probably that you’ll never meet the person that’s being served,” he said. “[Receiving] thanks is not always the intent or the goal for people. It’s knowing that there are people in need and even a one dollar donation multiplied by thousands has an impact.”
Another way that Called to Serve can help further the Church’s mission in central and southern Indiana is through its support of the St. Francis Xavier Home Mission Fund.
Any pledges that go beyond a parish’s financial goal in Called to Serve can be dedicated to the fund, which annually awards grants to home mission schools and parishes.
Home missions are parishes and schools that continue to serve the faithful in their areas, but face financial challenges in carrying out their vital ministry.
Providence Sister Constance Kramer, parish life coordinator of St. Ann Parish in Terre Haute, has seen up close the positive impact of grants from the St. Francis Xavier Home Mission Fund.
The $50,000 grant that her parish received from the fund allowed it to qualify for matching grants that helped it establish the St. Ann Dental Clinic in 2005 in the parish’s former school building.
The dental clinic helps those in need receive dental care that they might otherwise go without.
“It’s just getting bigger and bigger,” said Sister Constance. “In its first eight months, we served 88 people. Three years later [in 2007], we processed 957. Last year, we pulled 2,500 teeth.”
All of these shared ministries and home missions are generously supported by Catholics who know they’ve been blessed.
Father Michael Fritsch, pastor of St. John the Apostle Parish in Bloomington, has seen this in his own parishioners.
“We have been blessed here,” said Father Fritsch. “And so the parish, as a whole, I think, has that attitude that as we have been blessed, we in turn share and offer gifts of time, talent and treasure, not only to the parish, but to the archdiocese, the larger Church also.”
Recognizing God’s blessings and showing generosity in return is at the heart of thoughts of Archbishop Daniel M. Buechlein about Called to Serve.
“As people of faith, we acknowledge that everything we have comes from a loving God who fills our lives with his goodness,” the archbishop said. “Through our faith, we also recognize that gratitude is at the heart of generosity and happiness.”
(For more information about Called to Serve: 2008-09 Parish Stewardship and United Catholic Appeal, log on to www.archindy.org/uca, where you can make donations securely, or call 317-236-1425 or 800-382-9836, ext. 1425.) †
