The annual Partners in Charity appeal is under way and next weekend is the first in-pew collection at the parishes.
Some 188 people have already made gifts and pledges totaling $221,880, according to Michael Gillespie, diocesan director of Stewardship and Development. That is 4 percent of the $5 million goal. The campaign’s formal kickoff was set for Jan. 28 but was cancelled because of bad weather and hazardous driving conditions. Parishes have been picking up campaign materials at the Chancery. Bishop McManus spoke about the 2013 Partners in Charity campaign to diocesan employees at a gathering in the Chancery Jan. 31. “God chooses the weak and the foolish to confound the wise and the powerful,” the bishop said, after telling them about St. Kateri Tekakwitha, patroness of this year’s appeal. He said if God could use her “he can use us.” Partner’s advisory board member Mary Lou Anderson of Blessed Sacrament Parish, who with her husband, John, chaired the 2011 appeal, also spoke of the good work the appeal supports. The bishop praised this year’s promotional video, produced by the diocesan Office of Communications, and shown for the first time that afternoon. The video can be seen at www.Partners-Charity.net, and donors can also pledge online there. In-pew collections will be conducted on the weekend of March 2 and 3, Mr. Gillespie said. “The faithful throughout the Diocese of Worcester are being asked ‘to do’ as Jesus did: by serving those in need, by helping to spread the Gospel, by caring for our priests and encouraging vocations, by ensuring vibrant parish communities, and by passing on the faith to future generations - all of which is achieved by supporting the diocesan annual appeal,” Mr. Gillespie said. “We are mindful that each of us is responsible not only for his or her parish, but also for the well-being of the Church throughout the diocese and throughout the world. Since we are one community of believers, members of all parish communities throughout the Diocese of Worcester are asked to give to this important effort. It is important that everyone is given the opportunity to participate,” he said in a letter to supporters. Partners in Charity helps to support charitable, educational and ministerial organizations in the diocese. People are asked to not only support the campaign financially, but prayerfully. The campaign prayer follows:
St. Kateri Tekakwitha, we turn to you as patroness of our Partners in Charity Appeal. Your recent canonization gives us renewed faith and love for God and His Church, especially during this Year of Faith. You practiced the faith courageously in the face of almost unbearable obstacles. We rejoice in your heavenly favor with God, and we thank Him for giving you to us as a model of faith, hope, and love. Your earthly union with our Heavenly Father inspires us to greater openness of heart, renewed faith, and a lively generosity. Intercede for us, we pray, that our charitable efforts for the good of the Diocese of Worcester may effectively proclaim your holy influence in our lives and may lead us to work for the greater glory of God in all we do. Amen.