Diocesan Annual Appeal to kick-off Sept. 10,11

By KATIE LEFEBVRE, Globe staff reporter
August 11, 2005

The 2005 Diocesan Annual Appeal is scheduled to kick-off Sept. 10 and 11. The appeal is a way for the Diocese of Sioux City to support various ministries throughout the diocese.

"This is an appeal that has been in place for 30 years now," said Steve Elbert, diocesan development director. "It has longevity. We hope that is grows and have set a goal this year of $1.4 million. Last year our goal was $1.3 million."

Diocesan entities and ministries that receive dollars from DAA include Catholic Charities, multi-cultural ministries, adult and family ministries, youth programs, the permanent diaconate, Religious Education Media Center, Catholic schools and parish religious education, the Peace and Justice Action Commission and Tribunal.

Elbert noted that Catholic Charities alone provided services to over 6,000 people within the diocese last year. Their services are provided at five sites - Algona, Carroll, Fort Dodge, Storm Lake and Sioux City.

"It is an act of stewardship," said Msgr. Roger Augustine, diocesan administrator. "It is a matter in which we have to look at the larger church and how the diocesan annual appeal assists those offices which in turn are necessary to help those in the parishes and to help individuals in various ways."

Msgr. Augustine noted that the DAA helps people to see that the church is larger than a specific parish. It is a way that people can help other parishes through the work of the various offices that are part of the diocese.

"We call September DAA month," said Steve Elbert, director of development for the Diocese of Sioux City. "We are in the process now of getting our materials ready and our trainings together. We train our volunteers for DAA in the next few weeks."

Pastors are asked to identify volunteers in their parishes to lead the DAA in the local setting. By leading the DAA, it would involve material logistics, getting information out to parishioners, talking about DAA and the benefits of it and speak about how the DAA has touched a family in a given parish, he added.

"We are blessed to have DAA in place because it really takes care of many of the expenses associated with our ministries and programs," said Elbert. "I would liken the DAA to a big family in that we have different programs that receive support from this annual appeal."

The development director pointed out that parish goals are formulated by taking the number of parish households by $40.10.

"Each year when vital statistics are taken in the fall, that number of households within that specific parish is used to determine the goal of the DAA for the coming year," said Elbert. "We ask on average that amount from each household in the parish. There are people in different situations. Some are able to give more and some may not be able to give more than the amount."

For those who are not able to give at this time, Elbert asked that they pray for the DAA, the parish family and the diocesan family.

"Your prayers will make the difference for the success of the DAA," he said. "If there is a time when your situation turns around and you feel like you want to support the DAA, by all means, we would welcome that."

According to Elbert, one of he questions he gets during DAA is "how do I determine what amount to give."

"We have different rules of thumb that we can offer," said Elbert. "One of course is to associate your giving to the annual appeal with your tithe. The Catholic Church asks that each member give 5 percent to their given parish. The church also says that we should give an additional 5 percent to other causes. One percent to your diocese and a perfect way to do that is to earmark that to the annual appeal. The other four percent should go to other non-profit organizations that help people be all that God wants them to be."

Another rule of thumb that Elbert explained is that a person could give one hour's pay per month to the annual appeal.

Based on 100 percent of parish goal achievement, each parish receives the following return: a parish with two parish schools will receive 74 percent and the diocese receives 26 percent; a parish with one school receives 34 percent and the diocese receives 66 percent; a parish with no school receives 5 percent while the diocese receives 95 percent.

"If you achieve your goal, then anything above and beyond that goal that you raise, you get 100 percent of that back," said Elbert.

Parishioners will receive their direct mail pieces during the week of Sept. 12-16, noted Elbert.

"We ask that they consider the suggested amount that's printed on the card," said Elbert. "When we celebrated our 25th anniversary, some people, in honor of the anniversary, gave $250. When you receive your information about DAA, view the list of needs as family members. Think of it as you helping each member of our DAA family remain strong. It really does work to help our families stay strong and stay faithful."

The mail pieces that are sent out will have an additional part to them this year, noted Elbert. There will be a note encouraging intentions that parishioners have. Mass is celebrated at the Chancery office by Msgr. Augustine and Msgr. Michael Sernett almost every day. If there are intentions that someone wants remembered at Mass, they can fill out the card and the intention will be prayed for at Mass.

"It's all about building the kingdom," said Elbert. "Whether it's our schools, our parishes, Catholic Charities, youth ministries, Tribunal, diaconate, we are all about building the kingdom of God on earth. We have to make a go of it and part of that is supporting these programs through the diocesan annual appeal."