Newspaper Page Text
Diocese of
Savannah
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(Cross
Vol. 81, No. 5
Thursday, February 1, 2001
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Give Thanks.
The Diocesan Development Appeal,
the annual fundraising drive for the
Diocese of Savannah, begins the
weekend of February 3-4 with presen
tations in all the parishes. Bishop J.
Kevin Boland is writing to all regis
tered parishioners asking their sup
port. This year’s goal is $1.3 million.
DDA 2001: “For All God’s Gifts, Give Thanks”
T he 2001 theme for the Diocesan Development
Appeal’s “For All God’s Gifts, Give Thanks”
serves to remind God’s people that the Diocese of
Savannah has much to be grateful for—in its
growth, in its leadership, in the generosity of its
people, in its diversity and in its faithfulness in
proclaiming the Gospel message for 150 years in
south Georgia.
“The Jubilee Year has come to a close; the dioce
san Sesquicentennial Celebrations are over; and
our mother church, the Cathedral of Saint John the
Baptist, has been restored to great beauty and
splendor. These were significant events in the life
of the church and the Diocese of Savannah;
moments of joy, pride and prayerful gratitude,”
said Bishop J. Kevin Boland.
Bishop Boland presided over six
deanery celebrations this past year.
“They were marvelous celebra
tions of faith,” he said. “Each was
different, each expressed a sense
of pride, joy and gratitude that
was uplifting.”
To continue the work of teaching, preaching and
evangelizing requires funding. Ann Pinckney,
diocesan director of religious education, tells how
contributions to the DDA impact this ministry.
“Catechesis, the sharing of faith, has always been
an important part of our Catholicity,” she said.
“Funding from the DDA maintains our office,
helps with the training and visitation of catechists
and coordinators and directors of religious educa
tion in the parishes. It is an important part of enab
ling us to work with adults and children so that
they can live their faith.”
DDA funding is essential to the outreach and
program development of the newly reopened
Office of Family Life. Sister Pat Brown, the new
director of this office, has been traveling through
out the 37,000 square miles of the diocese and sees
much to be done. “In an effort to bring the richness
of Catholic spiritually and teaching to all families,
we are planning retreats for the separated and
divorced, expanded services to couples through
marriage preparation weekends and natural family
planning classes,” said Sister Pat. “Financial sup
port for publicity, staff, materials, conferences in
English and Spanish, is critical to the success of
our mission of helping families.”
Father Brett Brannen, pastor of Saint Peter
Claver Church in Macon and director of vocations
for the diocese, speaks of the need to provide for
the education of future priests. “It costs about
Interview with
Bishop Boland
—see page 7.
$22,000 a year to educate one seminarian. We have
1° studying this year, which means we need over
$400,000 for this part of our vocation budget. This
is a lot more than we needed just 5 years ago when
we had half the number of candidates,” said Father
Brannen. Some of the money for seminarians
comes from bequests that have been made in the
past, but a good portion of it needs to come from
the DDA according to Deacon Jack Benware,
Chief Financial Officer for the diocese.
Pat Signs, who directs the annual DDA, is
charged with raising the $1.3 million needed to
carry out the mission of the diocese this coming
year. “We ask,” said Signs, “in keeping with our
commitment to stewardship and proportionate giv
ing, that each family give 5% of their annual
income to their parish, and 5% to
the diocese and other charities.”
“With the One Faith...One
Family campaign, second collec
tions and the DDA, it can get
confusing,” admits Signs. Giving
proportionally takes some planning, but she says
that once you get into the habit, it isn’t terribly dif
ficult and that tithing can keep one from accumu
lating a lot of “stuff.” “It is a good form of disci
pline, and brings a tremendous sense of content
ment and peace when we put God first in our lives
and in our budgeting,” she concludes.
During the coming week, each registered family
in the diocese will receive a letter, a brochure and a
pledge card. Families are asked to make a down
payment on a nine-month pledge. An easy way to
do this, for both the donor and the diocese, is elec
tronic funds transfer (EFT) where the money is
debited each month from one’s checking or savings
account. Credit cards can also be used. According
to Signs, many like to get frequent flyer miles by
using these. Either way, it saves us postage and
time, and that means more money is available for
ministries.
“The gospel this Sunday is a good one to go
along with the start of the DDA,” said Bishop
Boland. “Jesus tells the disciples to put out their
nets. They do and are amazed at what they re
ceive.”
According to Signs, that’s what the church is
doing this week. “It is putting out nets and asking
the faithful to fill them—to give the means to feed,
to clothe, to teach, to communicate, to preach the
gospel... to truly become fishers of men and
women and children... to give thanks and to share
the Lord’s bounty,” she said.
Seven additional cardinals named
Councils of Catholic Women
jFiesta!
—see page 2
—see page 3
—see page 6