My dear friends in Jesus Christ,

In light of our theme this year, “we rejoice in our hope of sharing the glory of God” (Rm 5:2), I want to share with you the story of a remarkable little girl who attends one of our diocesan schools. Though her parents are not practicing the faith, a spark lit in her heart as she encountered the beauty of our Catholic faith in her kindergarten religion class. As she learned more, there was kindled a great desire to receive the sacrament of Baptism. Despite many challenges that tested this desire, including difficulty in finding a way to attend Mass on Sundays, she did not give up.

At the end of first grade, her longing to be a baptized daughter of God was fulfilled when both she and her little brother were baptized. The following year she experienced even more joy as she made her first Confession and received Jesus in First Holy Communion. This little girl’s perseverance, rooted in the only hope that truly satisfies, provides a powerful witness of faith for us all. Through your support of our diocesan ministries, you are part of this little girl’s story. You helped impact her life and awakened her hope in the infinite love of God. 

Together, we lead others to encounter God’s tender love through our life-giving ministries that educate future generations, strengthen families, form missionary disciples, and support our clergy and vocations.  Please prayerfully consider how you can share Christ’s hope through your financial giſts and your intentional prayers for this year’s Annual Ministry Appeal. Each giſt is a tangible sign of our commitment to build a stronger, more vibrant Church for generations to come.

Thank you for your generosity! I am deeply grateful for all that you do for your parish and our local Church. 

 
Asking every grace and blessing upon you, I am,

        Ways to Give  Give Now!  Ministry Impact Stories

Why is the Annual Ministry Appeal (AMA) important?
 Each parish serves the spiritual needs of its parish family. However, there are some services that no single parish can provide. These ministries are funded by the AMA for the service of the whole Diocese.
How does the Diocese use the money?
 The AMA funds are restricted funds for the supported Diocesan Ministries. They help provide for staff, program, and office costs to make these valuable ministries available for the whole Diocese, thus allowing the money to come back to the parishes in the form of services.
Who benefits from the money?
 Everyone benefits either directly from the ministries supported or indirectly from the support the ministries provide to the work being done by each parish and school. An example of direct support is the Department of Religious Education. This office trains and certifies catechists, guides curriculum, supports the faith formation programs, etc., providing immediate support to parish programs and parishioners. In the case of other ministries, the Diocese provides services that cannot be done by a single parish or cannot be done on a large scale by a single parish – as in the case of Communications and the Diocesan Tribunal.
Who sets the parish targets and how is that done?
 The Diocesan CFO makes recommendations to the Bishop, who has the final say on targets. The targets are based on a set percentage of a rolling average of each parish’s Adjusted Gross Income. Gross Income adjustments included reductions for all required 2nd Collections, school subsidies, AMA rebates, and site-specific reductions based on local circumstances. Pastors are provided their targets in advance and may appeal before the final targets are published.
What happens if the parish fails to make its target?
 If a parish fails to make its target, it will be required to make up the difference. About 45% of the total costs of the supported ministries are currently funded by the AMA. Parishes exceeding their goal will receive whatever amount raised over 100% of the target.
What happens if the parish raises over 100% of its target?
 Anything a parish raises over 100% of its target is returned to the parish for its own use.
How much should I give? How do I figure that out?
 All giving is individual, personal and confidential. Everything we have – our lives, our health, our possessions – comes from God; giving to the AMA is just one way that we can give back.
What is the average gift across the Diocese?
 We are a generous Diocese. Individual gifts range from $10 to over $20,000. If every registered household in the Diocese gave $6, the Diocesan goal would be easily exceeded. Unfortunately, there was only a 3% participation rate last year, necessitating larger gifts to reach the goal.
Can I direct my gift to a particular ministry?
 The AMA cannot accommodate gifts to a specific ministry as this may result in one ministry being overfunded at the expense of the other ministries. If you have a strong preference, you are free to give to that ministry directly, but this gift will not count toward your parish’s AMA goal.