Parishes gear up for Centennial Campaign
By Renee Webb, Globe diocesan news editor
Posted February 21, 2002

Parishioners in Bloc I recently received letters from Bishop Daniel N. DiNardo explaining the $20 million Centennial Campaign and asking them to consider supporting it with a gift.

Parishes in Bloc I are presently gearing up for the campaign that will establish endowments for Catholic education, Catholic Charities, religious education and multicultural ministries as they are training teams of volunteers to make personal calls.

Even in the early stages of the campaign, the work of some parishes is already standing out.

Jim Steier, campaign director, pointed out that he is pleased with the efforts of many parishes and has found that some in particular have "communicated the goals and objectives of the campaign in a manner that has created enthusiasm and ownership among the parishioners."

Father Paul Bormann, pastor at St. John the Baptist in Bancroft and Sacred Heart in Ledyard, pointed out that they have roughly 30 to 35 volunteers that will make personal visits to their fellow parishioners.

"Our parish council took on the responsibility to find more volunteers," stressed the pastor. "They have taken the lead in the campaign effort."

Rather than wanting to take credit for running an efficient campaign at the parish level, Father Bormann said that the parish council members wanted to make the visits as soon as possible when the information was fresh on parishioners' minds thanks in part to the letter and the campaign video.

Betty Ann Schmitz, development director at Sacred Heart Parish and School in Boone, said that they opted to get the word out about the campaign through the use of townhall meetings.

"We are gathering our people in the school gym, giving them the information and then we have personal visit stations," she explained. "They can visit with one of our volunteers and if they have any questions than we can answer them at that point."

Schmitz said the format is comfortable for people and has worked well so far. They held their first weekend Centennial Pledge Sunday about two weeks ago and will hold another meeting after Masses this weekend. The first gathering, she explained, stirred great discussion about the campaign among parishioners.

"We have found it be an opportune way to reach many, many people," she said. For the ones who do not attend the meetings, they will receive follow-up personal visits.

Father Roger Linnan of Spencer said that Sacred Heart has its volunteers in place and they are preparing for visits. The priest said he is very grateful to the 55 or 60 people who have agreed to make the calls.

"I think the parishioners see the need," he said. "Everyone in the parish knows we need a bigger endowment for the Catholic school system." Parishioners, he added, are also very aware of the importance of increasing their presence to Hispanics as many Protestant churches in their community have outreach programs. They also see the need for support of religious education and Catholic Charities endowments.

He pointed out that few really like to give money, but when they see the need they come through.

"These pastors and parishes stand out because they are extremely organized, understand the process required to conduct a successful fund-raising effort, and they are working cooperatively with Bishop DiNardo and the Steier Group," said Steier. "They have taken the vision created by Bishop DiNardo, priests and parishioners through the diocesan strategic planning process and effectively communicated this vision to their parish families."

Father Bormann said that Bishop Garrigan had a vision for the church in the diocese "in the first 100 years and Bishop DiNardo has a vision of starting these endowments and we need to support it. We are hopeful that we will come close to our goal. This is a difficult time to be having a campaign, but 100 years ago it was also difficult for the people to scrape the money together to build the churches."

In Bancroft, he noted that parishioners especially see value in the endowment for Catholic schools and Catholic Charities.

Schmitz agreed with Father Bormann. She said they believe the Centennial Campaign is very important because people in the past laid the groundwork for parishioners today in constructing the buildings and laying the foundation for the faith. People of today are doing likewise, by way of the endowments, for the church in the future.

"Successful campaigns require committed lay volunteers." Steier stressed, "We are grateful to the hundreds of volunteers who are working in parishes across the diocese to make this campaign a success."

The $20 million Centennial Campaign will fund: $2 million for a Multicultural Ministries Endowment Fund, $3 million for Adult Formation: Religious Education and Youth Ministry Endowment Fund, $4.5 million for a Catholic Charities Endowment Fund and $10.5 million for a Catholic Schools Endowment Fund.