Two-tiered Diocesan Services Appeal begins soon
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Programs, Cathedral focus of special three-year campaign |
SUPERIOR --The 2002-2003 Diocesan Services Appeal (DSA) will be launched a bit differently from what people in the diocese have come to expect. Since 1988 the campaign has been launched in the third week of September. An educational campaign explaining the changes will be launched the weekend on Sept. 14-15.
This year the 113 parishes in the Diocese of Superior will be divided into two groups, or tiers. The Tier I campaign begins in September and continues through the end of October, while Tier II kicks off with parish orientation in mid-January. Parishes will participate in whichever group best meets their individual fundraising schedules. According to Steve Tarnowski, stewardship and development director for the diocese, the two-tiered campaign will help the diocese more effectively reach the more than 35,000 Catholic families across the 16 counties in northern Wisconsin.
What prompted these changes? This year and for the following two years, Bishop Raphael M. Fliss is asking Catholics throughout the diocese to join together to support the more than 35 Diocesan programs funded by the Appeal, as well as a special project -- the preservation and enhancement of the Cathedral of Christ the King. The Cathedral, built in 1927, has been in serious need of structural repairs, updating of electrical and other systems, and better handicapped access for several years. A number of liturgical components also are in need of either restoration or enhancement.
As the spiritual center of the Diocese of Superior, the Cathedral is home to the annual Chrism Mass, ordinations and other major episcopal liturgies each year. The diocese has already addressed some of the most pressing needs of the Cathedral, including replacing portions of the copper roof, reinforcing the bell tower and tuck-pointing the mortar.
Other programs helped by the annual DSA include youth education and religious instruction; religious vocations, such as ordained ministry of both priesthood and permanent diaconate, vowed religious life and lay ministry; several services for the handicapped; housing for the elderly and the education of seminarians to serve the Diocese. DSA also supports the lay ministry outreach -- bringing comfort and assistance to the sick and poor in the Diocese -- and the Respect Life Office, which supports parishioners in teaching, modeling and sharing a consistent life ethic.
The goal of the DSA is a little over $2 million for each of the next three years. All funds will go towards Diocesan programs and the Cathedral project.
Materials will be sent to Tier I parishioners over the next six weeks. Tier II mailings will go out in January. People wanting more information about the DSA can call 715-392-2937. Information about the Cathedral project is available at www.catholicdos.org.
© Superior Catholic Herald, 2002