‘Christ Our Hope’ appeal has goal of $5.7 million

Doris Jackson, an assistant for the preschool operated at Ryves Hall in Terre Haute, helps some of the children at the preschool enjoy a pancake breakfast in June 2004 at the Terre Haute Catholic Charities Food Bank. Catholics in west central Indiana support the programs of Catholic Charities Terre Haute through their contributions to “Christ Our Hope: Compassion in Community.” (File photo by Brandon A. Evans)

By Sean Gallagher

Nov. 6-7 is intention weekend for the archdiocese’s “Christ Our Hope: Compassion in Community” annual appeal.

Catholics across central and southern Indiana will be invited at Masses celebrated in their parishes this weekend to prayerfully consider how they will contribute from their time, talent and treasure to the ministries of their parish and archdiocesan community.

The goal for Christ Our Hope is $5.7 million.

“Your parish and the Archdiocese of Indianapolis need your help to do Christ’s work,” said Archbishop Daniel M. Buechlein. “Faith has to be about something more than just a personal reaching out for the things that are unseen. Faith is concrete and practical.”

Contributions made to the appeal will support concrete expressions of the faith in three spheres of ministry—proclaiming the word of God, celebrating the sacraments and exercising the ministry of charity.

Supporting Catholic education, providing for the formation of future priests and the needs of retired priests, and ensuring help for those in need by Catholic Charities agencies are the primary examples of ways that these essential ministries of the Church are carried out in the archdiocese.

And because of significant changes in the appeal this year, contributions made by Catholics across central and southern Indiana will, in many cases, support ministries in the region where they live.

For the appeal, the archdiocese is divided into five regions based on its 11 deaneries: Batesville and Connersville, Bloomington and Seymour, Indianapolis, New Albany and Tell City, and Terre Haute.

Contributions to Christ Our Hope by Catholics in those regions will support Catholic Charities agencies which are located there.

Any contributions over a region’s goal related to proclaiming the word of God will directly support Catholic education there.

And each region’s goal related to celebrating the sacraments is based on the number of households in that region.

In addition, a new feature of Christ Our Hope will allow those participating in the appeal to designate a specific ministry that they want to support through their contribution.

“For example, if you have a passion for education and want to see your money go toward supporting our Catholic schools and our religious education programs, then you will be able to do that on this year’s pledge card,” said Archbishop Buechlein. “You’ll also have the option of checking a box that indicates that you want your money to be used wherever the need is the greatest.”

Another intention card option is financial support for the education of seminarians and deacons, and for the retirement benefits of priests.

Appeal donors may also choose to provide help for people in need through Catholic Charities Indianapolis.

Contributions made to Christ Our Hope support the ministry of the archdiocese’s Office of Catholic Education (OCE), which assists administrators and teachers at Catholic schools across central and southern Indiana.

A two-hour drive from Indianapolis, St. Joseph School in Corydon is the school in the archdiocese that is farthest from the Archbishop O’Meara Catholic Center where OCE staff members work.

But Heidi Imberi, the principal of St. Joseph School, feels close to the OCE staff members she calls on a regular basis.

“They make the archdiocese really small,” Imberi said. “I can be on the phone with Joe Peters, Ron Costello, Kathy Mears or Rob Rash in a moment. They’re amazing. At any point, they are at our disposal.”

When Imberi and the other principals in the New Albany Deanery meet each month at one of the schools there, an OCE staff member attends their meeting.

“I hosted it in September,” Imberi said. “Ron [Costello] and Kathy [Mears] both came. I’m proud of my school, and I want to be able to show it off. And they learn that our school has [various things] going for it. I love it when they come down.”

Just down the road from St. Joseph School in Corydon is Our Lady of Perpetual Help Parish in New Albany.

That is where deacon candidate Jeff Powell ministers. He is in his third year of formation for the permanent diaconate, and hopes to be ordained with his 16 fellow candidates from across central and southern Indiana in 2012.

The archdiocese’s deacon formation program is supported by contributions to Christ Our Hope. Permanent deacons are currently assigned to 26 parishes in nine of the archdiocese’s 11 deaneries.

“The further you go through this process, you feel more of that love and support and prayer from the community,” Powell said. “It’s extremely empowering.”

John Etling, the agency director of Catholic Charities Terre Haute, feels empowered by the way in which Catholics in west central Indiana support several programs in his agency which help those in need through their contributions to Christ Our Hope.

“It is somewhat of a validation that they agree with how we do things or the efforts we try to make, and not just in the activity of serving but also in advocacy,” Etling said.

Among its programs, Catholic Charities Terre Haute operates an emergency homeless shelter, a food bank, and a youth center that helps many at-risk children and teenagers.

“From an economic standpoint, we’re living in some tough times for families,” Etling said. “ … We certainly live in times that I don’t recall seeing as a child from the standpoint of just sheer numbers [of those in need].”

Although meeting the needs of this growing number of people is a challenge, Etling still sees this challenge as a way to give more service to God.

“It is Jesus whom we’re serving,” Etling said. “To really embrace that just goes so much to the core of our faith.”

(To learn more about “Christ Our Hope: Compassion in Community,” log on to www.archindy.org/ChristOurHope.) †