ACA NEEDS HELP OF EACH MEMBER OF FAMILY OF FAITH

How wonderful it is to be a part of the inaugural edition of our Four County Catholic magazine. How fitting that it will be in homes shortly before Christmas, the time of year when so many of our family and friends will be visiting, hopefully taking the time to enjoy the new columns and format. Jesus asks each of us to bring the love and message of Christ to our families and neighbors, one person at a time. I hope that this beautiful magazine will help us do just that.

MARY ELLEN MAHONEY is the Director of Development

As we look ahead to the end of the year and concluding our 2022 Annual Catholic Appeal (ACA), One Faith, One Family, I would like to thank all of our generous donors who have looked within their hearts and made the sacrifice to help support our ACA this year. As our motto states, we truly are of one family in one faith. And there is no better way to show your love of Christ than by making sacrificial gifts to the ACA, allowing our ministries to be the hands and feet of Christ. Whether it be helping seminarians continue their educational path to the priesthood, preparing children for their sacraments, providing compassionate care to the elderly, reigniting one’s faith journey or ensuring that the hungry and homeless are fed and clothed, the missions of our ministries are numerous and far-reaching.

To those of you who have not yet donated to the 2022 ACA, I would ask you to please consider doing so today. As of the writing of this article, we are still $244,452 away from reaching our goal, amounting to a 9 percent shortfall. Only 15 percent of our parishioners have donated, leaving close to 85 percent of our parishioners yet to make a gift. I respectfully ask everyone who is still praying about donating to please take the opportunity in the next couple of days to do so. Our ministries such as the Office of Vocations, Office of Faith Events, Schools Office, Catholic Charities and

St. Vincent de Paul Place and St. Vincent de Paul Middletown, just to name a few, are relying on each of us to do our part.

The time is now, and the need is urgent. As I wrote before, we have been graced by an amazing matching gift opportunity. Together, the Rossi Foundation and the Padre Pio Foundation of America have agreed to match 50 percent of each new dollar we receive until Dec. 15. The generosity of these donors truly astounds me, and we are so incredibly thankful. We are equally grateful for each of your donations, no matter their size, because we truly cannot accomplish what we need to do without every member of our family of faith pulling together as one.

While on vacation in South Carolina recently, I attended the local church and was surprised to see an announcement that in the event of a bad storm, the members of this particular coastal parish would be evacuated and welcomed into the homes of members of an inland parish. The announcement continued that the inland parish families were prepared to host the displaced families for as long as they needed. It was so uplifting to see that kind of commitment from one parish to another, truly a testament to our being all members of one family of Christ. While we do not need to open our homes to entire parishes in such a way here, we certainly are called to open our hearts and wallets.

If you are interested in making a donation to the 2022 ACA, please call our campaign manager, Heather Harris, at 860.886.1928, ext. 111 or go online at www.norwichdiocese.net . You may also send checks made payable to the ACA, with your parish name in the memo line, to the ACA Office, 197 Broadway,