Message from Fr. Darling

Easter has passed so it is now time for our annual Catholic Services Appeal. Hopefully you remember that the CSA is the annual collection to provide Bishop Walkowiak with the funds needed for the operation of programs in the Diocese. Some of these programs include the televised Mass each Sunday for shut-ins, part of the cost of the seminary program for the formation of future priests, the work of the offices of Catholic Charities such as God’s Kitchen, the support of the Prison Ministry program to evangelize those who have been incarcerated, and the offices that support our Catholic schools and religious education programs. The CSA provides for those programs that all parishes need but no parish is big enough on its own to provide or fund by itself.

The way in which the formula works that determines the assessments for the parishes simply divides the parish income into the total Diocesan income to get a percentage. For instance, this past year St. Alphonsus Parish’s income of $912,231 was 2.059% of the total income of all the parishes in the Diocese which was $44,302,796. The total Diocesan CSA assessment this year is $6,333,000. Multiply that amount by our percentage of diocesan income and we discover that our parish assessment this year is $130,402.

This past Friday, April 21, the letters to each of us should have gone out in the mail so this week you should be receiving the mailing from the Bishop concerning this year's Catholic Services Appeal. Included will be a pledge card for you to complete and return to us here in the Parish Office (or drop it in the collection basket at Mass) as well as an explanation of what the Catholic Services does and to where the money goes. I thank you for your past support and ask you to be as generous this year as you can be, given your family situation. It is my hope that everyone could give something (remember the widow’s mite?) and that everyone will return their pledge cards promptly once you receive them. If you choose not to donate or pledge anything please simply fill out your card with $0 and return it to us. If you wish to make a credit card donation you will need to do so online at the Diocesan website at www.grdiocese.org/csa. Again thank you for your past support, and your continued support of the work of the Diocesan Church this year. If you have any questions about the CSA just let me know or contact Sandy in the Parish Office.