2019 Catholic Parishes Campaign - Message from Bishop Joseph M. Siegel
It has been just two short years since I was installed as the sixth Bishop of Evansville. In this appointment, God has given me the chance to be with you as we grow the Church in southwest Indiana. It is especially gratifying to be with you as we begin the celebration of our 75th anniversary as a diocese.
In this anniversary year, as in every year, we come to you to appeal to your generosity and love for the Church by making a gift to the Diocese of Evansville Catholic Parishes Campaign. While your parish has a weekly collection to fund its ministries and operations, we as a diocese don’t have that same opportunity. Hence, we hold this appeal once each year and ask for your financial support, which is crucial to the ministries and operations of the local Church, which is the Diocese of Evansville.
We often get asked about the use of the gifts with which we are entrusted. In the Gospel of Matthew, we are offered the Parable of the Talents (Mt 25:14-30). In this parable, it is made clear that the LORD expects us to increase the gifts we are given. That expectation is for us as individuals AND as a diocese. We gratefully accept the gifts you offer to us from the gifts given you by God. We also accept the inherent responsibility to increase them through our works, programs, and ministries. As Catholic stewards, we are all held accountable for how we care for what God gives us.
In our work to increase the value of the gifts given to us, we always focus on the LORD and bringing the joy of salvation to all. In everything we do, we look for ways to:
God gives us all we need to follow His will, to serve him, and to love our neighbor. We are his caretakers, stewards of the abundant gifts he so freely gives to all of us.
Today I am asking you to prayerfully consider sharing from the gifts God has given you in supporting the mission and ministries of our diocese by making a financial contribution to the Diocese of Evansville Catholic Parishes Campaign.
Contributing to the Catholic Parishes Campaign is one way in which we not only share from the abundant gifts given to us by God, but also provides active and meaningful participation in the local Church – The Diocese of Evansville. Your gift today enables us to continue the work of Our Lord for and with the people of God in southwest Indiana.
Your gift to the Catholic Parishes Campaign helps fulfill the sacramental, spiritual, and lifelong faith formation needs of thousands of Catholics in our diocese.
The people who lead the ministries, and the beneficiaries of these ministries, are our neighbors and friends, Catholics who share the love of Jesus and the love of Church. Our diocese brings together our people in faith to love and serve the Lord.
75 years after the founding of the Diocese of Evansville, we continue to carry out the work of our Lord. Our mission as members of our parish, our diocese, and the broader Church universal, is to build the Kingdom of God. One important way we do this is through our financial support of the mission and ministries of our diocese as we continue to SEEK HIM, KNOW HIM, SERVE HIM, and LOVE HIM.
Thank you for your past contributions to The Diocese of Evansville’s Catholic Parishes Campaign. I ask for your prayerful consideration through your continued financial support of our work.
In this anniversary year, as in every year, we come to you to appeal to your generosity and love for the Church by making a gift to the Diocese of Evansville Catholic Parishes Campaign. While your parish has a weekly collection to fund its ministries and operations, we as a diocese don’t have that same opportunity. Hence, we hold this appeal once each year and ask for your financial support, which is crucial to the ministries and operations of the local Church, which is the Diocese of Evansville.
We often get asked about the use of the gifts with which we are entrusted. In the Gospel of Matthew, we are offered the Parable of the Talents (Mt 25:14-30). In this parable, it is made clear that the LORD expects us to increase the gifts we are given. That expectation is for us as individuals AND as a diocese. We gratefully accept the gifts you offer to us from the gifts given you by God. We also accept the inherent responsibility to increase them through our works, programs, and ministries. As Catholic stewards, we are all held accountable for how we care for what God gives us.
In our work to increase the value of the gifts given to us, we always focus on the LORD and bringing the joy of salvation to all. In everything we do, we look for ways to:
- SEEK HIM – We look for God always, in all ways. In the faces our family and friends, and those of strangers as well. We seek Him in our work and play, in good times and in bad.
- KNOW HIM – Learning about our faith is a lifelong activity. It does not end with Confirmation or graduation from high school. The Church is incredibly rich in opportunities to know and learn more about the LORD, from the Desert Fathers to contemporary catechists.
- SERVE HIM – We serve the LORD through the Sacraments, offered by our clergy. Lay people serve the LORD through evangelization – sharing the Good News of our LORD Jesus Christ with all those around them, just as He said we should.
- LOVE HIM – We offer our love to the LORD through our prayers and our works. St. James tells us that “…faith of itself, if it does not have works, is dead.” (Js 2:17) We show our love of the LORD by helping the poor, the lonely, and those we look right through.
God gives us all we need to follow His will, to serve him, and to love our neighbor. We are his caretakers, stewards of the abundant gifts he so freely gives to all of us.
Today I am asking you to prayerfully consider sharing from the gifts God has given you in supporting the mission and ministries of our diocese by making a financial contribution to the Diocese of Evansville Catholic Parishes Campaign.
Contributing to the Catholic Parishes Campaign is one way in which we not only share from the abundant gifts given to us by God, but also provides active and meaningful participation in the local Church – The Diocese of Evansville. Your gift today enables us to continue the work of Our Lord for and with the people of God in southwest Indiana.
Your gift to the Catholic Parishes Campaign helps fulfill the sacramental, spiritual, and lifelong faith formation needs of thousands of Catholics in our diocese.
The people who lead the ministries, and the beneficiaries of these ministries, are our neighbors and friends, Catholics who share the love of Jesus and the love of Church. Our diocese brings together our people in faith to love and serve the Lord.
75 years after the founding of the Diocese of Evansville, we continue to carry out the work of our Lord. Our mission as members of our parish, our diocese, and the broader Church universal, is to build the Kingdom of God. One important way we do this is through our financial support of the mission and ministries of our diocese as we continue to SEEK HIM, KNOW HIM, SERVE HIM, and LOVE HIM.
Thank you for your past contributions to The Diocese of Evansville’s Catholic Parishes Campaign. I ask for your prayerful consideration through your continued financial support of our work.