Stewardship Appeal 2018 Message

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

“I believe.”

These words declare our faith and trust in God, and give meaning to our life. These words also represent the theme of this year’s annual Stewardship Appeal for the Eparchy of Parma.

Our faith is defined in the Nicene Creed, which we profess at every Divine Liturgy. It is a gift that many of us received from our parents or friends, and it is our responsibility to practice this faith, nurture it, and pass it onto others.

This is why, this pastoral year, with the launch of the Stewardship Appeal, I have requested an eparchy-wide adult faith formation program, intended to help all of the faithful and their pastors grow together as a Christian community, so that we may go out into the world to witness to Jesus Christ with even more courage and confidence.

Your generous donations help to pass on our faith by ensuring that our Byzantine Catholic Church can continue into the future. But it is also important to remember that we are called as Christians to pass on the faith through our courageous and well-formed witness.

This faith formation initiative, based on the Nicene Creed, will begin during the Philip’s Fast and continue during Great Lent. I encourage you to invite your family and friends, even those who do not believe, to join you for these sessions, so that more people can come to know our Lord, Jesus Christ.

It is important to gather as communities to grow in our faith because we live in times when we are tempted not to believe and to question the truths of our faith. We must also encourage each other to support the mission of the church.

As your bishop, it is my duty to lead and encourage you in the faith, primarily through the priesthood. The eparchy needs your help to finance the studies of our three seminarians, as well as the arrival of young priests from Europe and their families, who are willing to help with the evangelizing mission of our eparchy. Your donations will also finance the health insurance coverage for our 16 retired priests, who have served us faithfully for decades.  

The numbers above should indicate to you the current priest shortage in our eparchy. For this reason, I invite you to pray for new vocations to the priesthood, both in your personal prayer and in your families. It is through the family that God will call young men to become priests. We must also develop programming for youth and accompany them in their vocational discernment toward marriage, priesthood or consecrated life. Your donation will help to fund such youth ministry efforts, as well as adult faith formation initiatives, such as this year’s “I Believe” program.

I would like to thank you for your financial support during last year’s Stewardship Appeal, which helped us to overcome a time of crisis, as we continue to take steps to toward financial stability.

Good stewardship is an important expression of one’s faith. May your generosity to this year’s Stewardship Appeal be a testament to your faith and may your participation in the eparchy-wide faith formation initiative inspire you to profess your faith to our world in need of Jesus Christ.

Thank you and may God reward your spiritual and financial generosity and sacrifice.

I extend to you my episcopal blessing.
 

✠ Most Rev. Milan Lach, SJ
Bishop of the Eparchy of Parma