A message from the Bishop.... uring his time of shepherding the D Church, Pope St. Paul VI called all to
“Never REACH OUT your hand unless you are willing to EXTEND an arm.”
holiness and a response in faith to meet the spiritual and material needs of others. “Never reach out your hand unless you are willing to extend an arm,” the Pope once said, challenging us to do all we can to build up the Body of Christ, and urging us to offer our help with free hearts and a generous spirit, withholding nothing in our efforts. With your support, the Diocese of Trenton has been able to embrace that challenge to reach out a hand, to extend an arm, and provide the essential ministries, programs and services that make a critical difference in the lives of so many. As your Bishop, I cannot emphasize
enough the critical role you play in your parishes and in our diocesan Church, as you strive to be witnesses of love for Christ and His Church. I hope you will prayerfully consider supporting this year’s Appeal so we, together, can continue the important work of serving others. God bless you. Gratefully,
Most Rev. David M. O’Connell, C.M. Bishop of Trenton
– Pope St. Paul VI
Diocesan faithful encouraged to ‘build up the Body of Christ’ through their generosity
2019 DIOCESE of TRENTON
Story by Mary Morrell, Contributing Editor
D
uring his 15-year pontificate, notably throughout the Second Vatican Council, St. Paul VI worked tirelessly as a prophetic witness to the joy of the Gospel and the communion of the Body of Christ. He called the Church, in all its communities, to evangelization, missionary discipleship and service to others. St. Paul VI also exhorted the faithful to “never reach out a hand unless you are willing to extend an arm.”
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“With these words,” said Bishop David M. O’Connell, C.M., in his letter introducing the 2019 Annual Catholic Appeal, “[St. Paul VI] challenges us to do all we can to build up the Body of Christ in our communities and provide assistance to those in need. He urges us to offer our help with free hearts and a generous spirit, withholding nothing in our efforts.” With a goal of $7 million, the 2019 Appeal will kick off in the Diocese the weekend of Feb. 23-24. Following an introduction of the Appeal by the local pastor, a video illustrating the outreach and ministries supported by the Appeal will be shown at all Masses. In-pew commitments may be made by completing pledge cards available in church during the kick-off weekend. Informational materials, including a brochure, pledge card and reply envelope, are also being mailed to See Build • A2
Together, when we reach out our hands and extend our arms we can...
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emphasized the importance of the excellent partnerships between his department and the pastors and parishes: partnerships which enable the Appeal to be successful. “Together, as we reach out our hands and extend our arms in support of our 2019 Annual Catholic Appeal, we continue to be grateful for the wide range of diocesan ministries made possible by the generous support of our donors,” Nicholl said. rney u o j Msgr. Arnister described these r ou partnerships as a “win-win situation,” h explaining, “Once you reach your ric n E goal, as well as go over it, your parish receives a rebate to assist with your own parish projects and programs. But all of this must commence with the pastor’s enthusiasm and support.” The needs of parishes, one of the six supported ministries of the Appeal, are addressed with 15 percent of the original
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The video that will be shown in parishes to kick off the 2019 Annual Catholic Appeal features a personal message from Bishop David M. O’Connell, C.M., and a glimpse at some of the many ways that the Diocese and its parishes reach out to others to build up the Body of Christ. You may view the video at any time at dioceseoftrenton.org/catholicappeal
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parishioners. The theme of this year’s Appeal, said Msgr. Edward Arnister, pastor, St. Rose Parish, Belmar, “makes one prayerfully reflect that we are members of the Body of Christ who must be Christ to others today, serving others and reaching out especially to those most in need. The Appeal is one important way we can make those words come alive in our parish and in our Diocese. “A parish does not exist all by itself. It is our duty as pastors always to convey a broader vision of Church than the particular parish to which one belongs. We belong to a diocesan family with the Bishop as shepherd. By supporting the programs, ministries and services of the Diocese through the Appeal, parishes are assisted in the various ministries, programs and services that are offered locally.” As the new Appeal gets underway, Stephen Nicholl, diocesan director of the Department of Development,
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2019 Annual Catholic Appeal • Projected Distribution of Collected Funds Walking with Those In Need Catholic Social Services • Providing basic needs to the poor and marginalized Mental Health Services • Parishbased counseling Pastoral Care • Ministry to those who are grieving or dealing with loss; Prison ministry; Parish nursing; Respect Life Ministry
Supporting Parish and Family Life
Marriage Ministry • Preparing, sustaining couples through Pre-Cana; Engaged Encounter; Convalidation education; Bishop’s Anniversary Blessings Youth and Young Adult Ministry • Training ministers; Resourcing parish youth programs; Sponsoring diocesan events
and experiences for youth to grow in faith, service and a sense of community Parish Development • Supporting parish mission, leadership and administrative efforts
Priests, Deacons and Religious Finding and Forming Priests • Vocations recruitment efforts; Seminary preparation and support; Ongoing formation and opportunities for spiritual growth Retired Priests • Providing healthcare, housing and other needs for retired diocesan priests Finding and Forming Deacons • Working with potential candidates; Preparation; Ongoing formation Support of Religious Women and Men • Serving those in consecrated life; Annual Convocation
Communications and Evangelization Evangelization Outreach • Inviting seekers to consider the Catholic Church; Providing opportunities for a deeper experience of the faith; Outreach to Hispanic Catholic community Communications and Media • Keeping the community informed through the diocesan website; the digital and print resources of The Monitor, the diocesan newspaper; and the use of social media and multimedia projects, such as videos and podcasts
Education, Catechesis and Lay Formation Catholic School Administration • Working with Catholic schools to ensure academic excellence and a sense of Catholic
identity through oversight, and ongoing formation of educators and leaders Religious Education • Working with parish religious education programs to see that children receive a firm foundation in the faith RCIA • Coordination of formation process for those who seek to enter the Church Adult Faith Formation • Preparing lay men and women for ministry in the parish setting; Ongoing faith enrichment opportunities
Parish Needs Returns to Parishes • 15% of the collected goal, and 50% of any overage is returned for key parish needs
DIOCESE of TRENTON
BY PHONE: Call our Department of Development at 609-403-7197 with your credit card information.
2018 Annual Catholic Appeal
Diocese of Trenton, Department of Development PO Box 4887, 701 Lawrenceville Road Trenton, NJ 08650-4887
ANNU AL C AT H O LI C AP P EAL A3 Thank you for your generosity.
Your donation is important in building up our Church. Gifts of cash, check, money order, credit card or electronic transfers from your bank account are gratefully accepted. Gifts of stock, IRA distributions, bequests and charitable annuities can be coordinated by contacting the Department of Development at 609-403-7197.
FEBRUARY 7, 2019 • TrentonMonitor.com
BY MAIL: Send a check or money order made payable to Annual Catholic Appeal: ONLINE: Access our secure website at www.dioceseoftrenton.org/catholicappeal to easily make a pledge, payment or outright gift.
Parishes’ strong support spells success for 2018 Appeal Your Donation
THREE WAYS TO MAKE
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hen pastors are asked what makes the Annual Catholic Appeal successful, they are quick to highlight the generosity of their parishioners, embracing the vision, adherence to a plan of action, and the importance of prayer. Appeal planners also point to the critical role of pastors, who teach and witness to the important mission of the Annual Catholic Appeal, covering such initiatives as helping the poor, the elderly, families and retired religious, as well as ministries of evangelization, communication and vocations.
“[It allows] my parishioners to see what is going on throughout the Diocese.” It’s a combination that brought the 2018 Annual Catholic Appeal, “What Does Love Look Like?” to a successful close in December. The appeal raised $6.2 million of a $7 million goal, an increase of $600,000 over the previous year’s appeal.
The increase is significant, said Steve Nicholl, diocesan director of the Department of Development, considering some parishioners are still fulfilling their pledges to the Faith to Move Mountains Endowment Campaign. That multi-year initiative also ended its solicitation phase successfully in mid-2017 and will be in the redemption phase until 2022. A notable positive for the 2018 Annual Catholic Appeal, said Nicholl, is the increase in the number of parishes that have gone over their goal. In 2018, 42 parishes surpassed their goal, as compared to 24 parishes in 2017. In keeping with the Appeal’s longstanding protocol, parishes that exceed goal not only receive 15 percent of all collected donations from their parish, but another 50 percent of the amount raised over goal. Because of the high number of parishes exceeding goal, a total of $650,000 is being paid out in parish rebates for the 2018 Appeal. Reflecting on the outcome of the 2018 appeal, Father John Butler, pastor, St. Michael Parish, Long Branch, stressed that the value of the appeal rests not only in the funds donated to support ministries or provide parish rebates, but “in the opportunity to annually recall for parishioners the duties
Your Gift Matters!
By Mary Morrell Contributing Editor
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2018 Annual Catholic Appeal
DIOCESE of TRENTON
and responsibilities of stewardship that are certainly necessary to respond to ‘here at home in the parish,’ but also to respond at the broader Church community level, too. “The appeal keeps in focus the principle that the parish is part of a Diocese and that the parishes and the Diocese together are part of the Church as an integrated whole, and as a community and communion of inter-related parts.” The 2018 campaign was bolstered by a consistent presence across all diocesan media – including print, web and social – providing donors of all ages easy and convenient ways to access information and make their gift to the appeal. Of particular note was the Appeal video, “Stories of Love,”
which was introduced to parishioners by their pastors during the appeal kick-off weekend. The video not only highlighted the many ministries and initiatives funded by the appeal, but included testimony by clergy, religious and couples whose vocations have been served through the Appeal’s supported ministries. “One of the biggest benefits of the Appeal video is allowing my parishioners to see what is going on throughout the Diocese. More than once … a parishioner has asked me about something they saw in the video that is going on at another parish, and then ask if we could do it here,” said Father John Garrett, pastor, Resurrection Parish, Delran. See Annual • A4
Parishes surpass goals Annual Catholic Appeal • 2018
Congratulations to the following parishes that have achieved their individual goals: St. Anthony Claret • Lakewood St. Benedict • Holmdel St. Catharine • Holmdel St. Catherine of Siena • Farmingdale St. Catherine • Middletown St. David the King • Princeton Junction St. Denis • Manasquan St. Dominic • Brick Town St. Elizabeth Ann Seton • Whiting St. Elizabeth • Avon St. Gabriel • Marlboro St. Hedwig • Trenton St. James • Pennington St. Joan of Arc • Marlton
St. John the Baptist • Allentown St. Justin the Martyr • Toms River St. Katharine Drexel • Burlington St. Leo the Great • Lincroft St. Luke • Toms River St. Mark • Sea Girt St. Mary • Colts Neck St. Mary • Barnegat St. Mary of the Assumption • Deal St. Mary of the Lakes • Medford St. Maximilian Kolbe • Toms River St. Michael • West End St. Paul • Princeton St. Peter • Point Pleasant Beach
St. Pio of Pietrelcina • Lavallette St. Pius X • Forked River St. Rose • Belmar St. Rose of Lima • Freehold St. Thomas More • Manalapan St. William the Abbot • Allenwood Precious Blood • Monmouth Beach Nativity • Fair Haven Holy Innocents • Neptune Our Lady of the Angels • Trenton Resurrection • Delran Sacred Heart • Bay Head St. Catharine-St Margaret • Spring Lake St. Robert Bellarmine Co-Cathedral • Freehold
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risty and side entrance of the church proper. … We also have a building called the ‘St. Rose Grammar School Annex’ which is quite old and in need of renovation. Plans call for that to be used for adult faith formation sessions and possible additional meeting space. We are never at a loss as to what to do with any rebates we receive from the Appeal!” Nicholl stressed that, in the coming year, “The needs of the Diocese and its parishes are greater than ever and I urge all people of faith to consider an d donating to the Appeal. e
collected goal and 50 percent of the amount collected over goal being returned to the parish for repair or restoration projects, new areas of growth or ministry development, as well as other needs. Looking to the future, Msgr. Arnister acknowledged, “We will be using the rebates we received from the 2018 Appeal, as well as future rebates, hopefully, from the 2019 Appeal, for our capital improvement projects that we have in the parish. A major project is the renovation of our sac-
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This year, with your support, the Diocese will continue to be able to feed and nurture the family of God through our parishes, our ministries, and our schools.” Donations to the Annual Catholic Appeal may be made by mail, on-line or by phone. For more information call 609-4037197 or visit dioceseoftrenton.org/catholicAppeal.
To learn more about the many essential ministries, programs and services supported by the Annual Catholic Appeal, please visit our website:
dioceseoftrenton.org/catholicappeal
“To a certain extent,” he advised, “the pastor has to be something of a cheerleader for the Diocese in the parish. There is a natural tendency for people just to focus on their local parish. … For many people in the pews, the Diocese is some far away entity, so the pastor has to help them see that the Diocese is just as much a part of ‘us’ as the person in the pew in front of them.” Looking toward the future, and plans for the parish rebate monies, Father Butler explained, “The commitment that we made for the 2018 rebate is in the ‘brick and mortar’ category. The restrooms in the church basement are in need of paint and a general freshening-up, and perhaps the start of a more substantial phased-in upgrade; an engineer’s feasibility study of installing an automated outdoor chair lift to enable seniors and the handicapped to more easily access the restrooms and the Lower Church in our church basement, and after those two items there are, of course, many others on
our parish wish list and to-do list.” For Resurrection Parish, the needs are different, said Father Garrett. “Like so many parishes, we have a hard time just paying our ordinary bills, and the Annual Catholic Appeal rebate just goes into our general operating funds.” Expressing gratitude that the parish doesn’t have the deepest of debts, he added, “But we do have a little debt to the Diocese.” Father Garrett continued, “I am thankful for how patient the Diocese is in collecting what we owe in back assessments, but I do not want to take advantage of the Diocese’s patience. So our rebate will probably go to paying off the assessment.” As parishes get ready to kick-off the 2019 Annual Catholic Appeal on the weekend of Feb. 23-24, Father Butler offered some thoughts on preparing, also, to be successful in the endeavor. “It’s vital that the pastor make the ends and the purposes of the appeal very real, relevant and tangible to the parishioners,
Your Gift Matters! Your donation is important in building up our Church. Gifts of cash, check, money order, credit card or electronic transfers from your bank account are gratefully accepted. Gifts of stock, IRA distributions, bequests and charitable annuities can be coordinated by contacting the Department of Development at 609-403-7197.
Three Ways to Make Your Donation
Annual Appeal needs parish help Continued from • A3
Through your generous and sacrificial gift, you not only embrace Pope St. Paul VI’s challenge, you embrace your brothers and sisters in the Lord, as well.
even though some or most of the effects of the appeal may not be readily visible within the parish territory itself, and repeatedly emphasize the message that what helps the Diocese helps the parish, helps the Church and helps the individual; that we’re all connected and that we all have a stake in the Annual Catholic Appeal,” he shared. “My hope for the 2019 Appeal is to keep our streak going,” said Father Garrett. “We have made our goal every year that I have been here, and the streak of making goal goes back even further than that. I am grateful that the previous pastors set a good foundation in parishioners’ minds that the Annual Catholic Appeal is very important.” Said Nicholl, “We are very thankful to all of our parishes that actively participated, and a special congratulations to those who reached their goal. We pray that people continue to fulfill their pledge commitment to Faith to Move Mountains while supporting the Annual Catholic Appeal campaign.”
ONLINE: Access our secure website at www.dioceseoftrenton.org/catholicappeal to easily make a pledge, payment or outright gift. BY MAIL: Send a check or money order to our processing center, made payable to Annual Catholic Appeal: Diocese of Trenton PO Box 70170 Newark, NJ 07101 BY PHONE: Call our Department of Development at 609-403-7197 with your credit card information.
Thank you for your generosity.