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Diocese of Savannah hern (Cross Vol. 81, No. 5 Thursday, February 1, 2001 $.50 PER ISSUE I 1 ( mm J! . JDti s L/iih r s.' |i«: - r ... ■@s 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