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Parish Community Tithing: Supporting the Universal Church
In many ways, our parish is a microcosm of our diocese, and our domestic churches are microcosms of our parish. We are called to give of our first fruits to our parish to support parish life, and our parish similarly gives to our diocese to support diocesan life and the universal church.
“If we consider the nature of the Church, we can understand that we are the Diocese of Springfield,” says Fr. Tom Donovan, Pastor. “We are all related under the apostolic guidance of our bishop and for the good of the larger universal Church. We’re part of a larger team, and it’s greater than just us.”
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This past year, diocesan staff, pastors, parish staff members, and parish leaders thoughtfully considered the diocese’s financial structures. After much discernment, the decision was made to transition away from a traditional diocesan appeal, and the Annual Catholic Services Appeal (ACSA) was changed to Parish Community Tithing. This change in name reflects a change in structures from an arbitrary model to an intentional and Biblically based model.
“Quite frankly, the annual appeal was arbitrary,” says Katie Price, diocesan Director of Parish Vitality and Mission Advancement. “Our diocese is taking a radical change in its organization, hiring, and resource support for parishes. We’re making changes because what we were doing wasn’t aligned with the Synod. What we’re going to moving forward — tithing — has a scriptural basis as a spiritual exercise.”
Starting in July, the diocesan mission and ministries have been supported through a monthly tithe (10 percent) from each parish’s general support outside of school revenues, and the Annual Catholic Services Appeal will not occur. The diocese will continue to honor donor requests. For example, if a parishioner gives to St. Anthony in their will, that will absolutely be honored.
“By making this tithe, you’re supporting the universality of the Church and the diocese, and the diocese is focusing on supporting the needs of the individual parishes,” Katie says. “The Diocesan Team meets weekly on Tuesdays to discuss the parishes and how to support them. We discuss individual parish needs like parishes that are in debt or have struggling schools.”
Fr. Tom reiterates just how important this support that the diocese gives to the parishes and to the clergy truly is — from providing extensive services, such as legal services, accountants, human resources, and other professional services, to supporting our diocesan seminarians, which is exactly how Fr. Tom was able to become a priest.
“I was able to go to seminary because of the support of diocesan parishes like ours,” Fr. Tom says. “If parish priests or parishes need professional services, I just call the diocese, and they take care of it. All of that is just a call away, and to do that ourselves would be prohibitive for the parish. Our bishop is our shepherd and needs resources to do his ministry as well. We need to support the diocese.”
Fr. Tom holds his Master of Business Administration and is currently completing a Master’s in Accounting, and he explains that another way to understand monthly giving is simply framing it as a tax and obligation to our diocese.
“This is a real obligation, and it is part of being a diocesan church and working together to take care of the ministry across this state of Illinois,” Fr. Tom says. “The diocese is not the state government, but in a way, this is like doing our federal and state taxes. We are going to pay our part to support the work of the diocese.”
When Katie moved to the Diocese of Springfield, she was excited to see how a diocese lives stewardship as a way of life according to the Wichita model. Her husband comes from a Baptist background, where tithing is the minimum one can give, and yet the average Catholic gives one to two percent to the Church.
“For me and my family, tithing is an opportunity to reevaluate what our household’s priorities are and how we give,” says Katie, a mother of three children. “That foundation is extended through the change in the annual appeal. Individual tithing is up to you and your household. Your parish models that behavior in a larger sense by giving to the universal church, and the diocese needs your support.”
The Parish Community Tithing model calls on us as a Catholic community to support each other and the universal Church and to imagine what we can do together.
“So many parishes are in maintenance mode, and we need to dream again and think about what could be possible,” Katie says. “We need more Catholic dreamers. Let’s give and give generously from our hearts.”
