In a letter to native Catholics asserting the Archdiocese of Washington’s 2021 Annual Attraction, Cardinal Wilton Gregory underscored the attraction’s theme, “Looking for Christ.” The cardinal additionally famous the subheading for the attraction, taken from Mark 1:37, “Everyone seems to be searching for you.”
“Directed at Jesus, these are the primary phrases spoken by Peter within the Gospel of Mark. They may simply be our personal first phrases to Jesus,” the cardinal mentioned in his letter within the brochure for the 2021 Annual Attraction, noting how in a world marked by a lot struggling, individuals are searching for Christ.
The Annual Attraction, which offers important funding for the Archdiocese of Washington’s academic and charitable outreach and helps greater than 70 ministries within the archdiocese, will likely be launched in 2021 on the attraction’s announcement weekend, Jan. 30-31.
David Cook dinner, the director of the Annual Attraction for the Archdiocese of Washington, additionally underscored how becoming this yr’s theme is at a time when so many individuals have been impacted by the coronavirus pandemic, and he identified that Peter’s phrases to Jesus, “Everyone seems to be searching for you,” come from the Sunday Gospel studying on the attraction’s dedication weekend, Feb.6-7.
“On this time of disaster and hardship, how true it’s that everybody is searching for Jesus,” Cook dinner mentioned. “Looking for Christ is what unifies us as a Church. That’s our widespread floor. That’s our widespread mission.”
In his letter concerning the Annual Attraction, Cardinal Gregory famous the function that Catholics can play in bringing Christ to these in want.
“Collectively, nourished by the sacraments, we turn out to be Christ’s palms and toes, and with apostolic zeal attain out to all these struggling in physique, thoughts and spirit… By means of our collective prayer and sacrificial items, we are able to guarantee all these Looking for Christ will discover Him in our Church,” the cardinal mentioned.
The archdiocese’s 2021 Annual Attraction has a purpose of accumulating $11.4 million in donations. The seven key kinds of outreach supported by the attraction embrace:
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Vocations, clergy and non secular assist, together with vocations for women and men, seminarian schooling, the Saint John Paul II and Redemptoris Mater seminaries, the workplaces for consecrated life and everlasting deacons, academic and religious applications for clergymen, and take care of sick clergymen -
Catholic schooling and catechesis, together with the Catholic Colleges Workplace, the workplace for non secular schooling and associated applications serving parishes, applications for folks changing into Catholic, and the administration for the Catholic Youth Workplace -
School, hospital and jail ministries, together with the campus ministries on the College of Maryland, Howard College, George Washington College, Gallaudet College, American College and St. Mary’s School; and Catholic ministries at native hospitals and prisons -
Professional-life and evangelization ministries, together with the Youth Rally and Mass for Life, parish pro-life outreach, St. Ann’s Middle for Kids and Households, Challenge Rachel for these grieving abortions, the Affirming Life Initiative for fogeys going through troublesome pregnancies, and evangelization applications like The Gentle is On for You initiative selling the sacrament of Confession and Discover the Excellent Reward encouraging folks to attract nearer to Christ throughout the Creation and Christmas seasons -
Pastoral and social ministries, together with the Household Ministry Workplace, younger grownup ministry, the Workplace of Cultural Variety and Outreach, applications for Hispanic Catholics, ministries to African Catholics, particular wants ministries, and the St. Francis Neighborhood for the Deaf -
Communications outreach, together with the Workplace for Communications, digital media, multi-media manufacturing, the TV Mass, and the Catholic Commonplace and Spanish-language El Pregonero newspapers and web sites -
Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Washington, the biggest non-governmental social providers supplier within the metropolitan space
The Annual Attraction’s brochure notes that one hundred pc of donations to the attraction are “restricted to the applications and ministries which are part of the Annual Attraction and won’t be used for another goal.”
The brochure for the 2021 Annual Attraction of the Archdiocese of Washington highlights the theme, “Looking for Christ,” and makes use of a picture of Jesus the Good Shepherd from a stained glass window at St. Peter Church in Waldorf, Maryland. (Design by Georgina Stark/Archdiocese of Washington)
Cook dinner famous that “the Annual Attraction is an extension of parish life. All these ministries, akin to seminary schooling and catechesis, ultimately profit and assist parish life in methods parishes can not assist on their very own.”
For instance, the attraction helps assist the seminary schooling for the subsequent technology of clergymen who will present the sacraments to folks at parishes in any respect phases of their lives. Equally, the attraction’s funding for the archdiocese’s Catholic Colleges Workplace and the Workplace for Catechesis make it potential for these workplaces to supply important assist to native Catholic faculties and parish non secular schooling and religion formation applications.
Cook dinner famous the robust generosity of native Catholics throughout 2020 towards the Annual Attraction and different archdiocesan and parish applications because the coronavirus pandemic impacted so many individuals.
That generosity reveals they see the Church as “a necessary establishment in a time of disaster” and wished to assist its efforts to fulfill the religious, sacramental and bodily wants of individuals throughout the pandemic, Cook dinner mentioned.
In a Jan. 15 e mail, Joseph Gillmer, the Archdiocese of Washington’s Government Director of Growth, mentioned practically $10.4 million had been obtained from 33,000 donors by that time for the 2020 attraction, with extra anticipated that month.
“Regardless of the challenges introduced on by the pandemic and the Annual Attraction pausing for 2 months whereas your complete archdiocese centered efforts to spice up assist for native parishes, contributions to the 2020 Annual Attraction exceeded the earlier yr by $164,919 (1.5%). Additional, the variety of items in 2020 exceeded 2019 by 3,738 – a 13% enhance!” Gillmer mentioned, including, “I’m in awe of the generosity by way of probably the most attempting circumstances of our lifetimes.”
Gillmer additionally famous that past the Annual Attraction, the trustworthy all through the Church of Washington responded generously throughout the pandemic in supporting native parish offertories, the Needy Parish Fund and the Neighborhood Meals Safety Program.
Greater than 1,500 donors supplied $250,000 for the Needy Parish Fund. The archdiocese’s Neighborhood Meals Safety Program (previously referred to as the Parish Pantry Assist Challenge) obtained $550,000 in assist within the final six months. That program supplied 87 grants to 46 parishes and faculties and has the sources to proceed to assist native meals pantries by way of this winter and spring. Greater than 1,800 folks within the archdiocese additionally donated $323,864 to greater than Catholic causes as a part of the #iGiveCatholic nationwide day of giving on Dec. 1.
“The trustworthy of the Archdiocese have been extremely beneficiant in a time of problem and uncertainty,” Gillmer mentioned. “The trustworthy reveal time and time once more that they’re prepared to reply if we, as a Church, articulate the necessity and supply the chance.”
Attraction’s influence on one ministry
In a Jan. 26 on-line presentation to Archdiocesan Pastoral Middle workers concerning the 2021 Annual Attraction, John Capobianco – the director and producer of the Sunday TV Mass – spoke concerning the influence that attraction donations have on that ministry.
The Sunday TV Mass, begun in 1952 to deliver the Mass to the aged and shut-ins, has had a considerably broader attain throughout the pandemic for people and households unable to attend Mass in particular person. The joint manufacturing of the Archdiocese of Washington and the Diocese of Arlington, filmed on the Crypt Church of the Basilica of the Nationwide Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, in 2020 had 3.5 million views on YouTube and multiple million complete viewers on its 10:30 a.m. Sunday broadcast on Channel 50, Capobianco mentioned.
Capobianco, who has labored on the Sunday TV Mass for the previous 33 years, mentioned he realized it’s rather more than a TV program for the people who find themselves in a position to view the Mass that means. That ministry displays the Annual Attraction’s theme, serving to “these searching for Christ to search out him” by way of the televised Mass, Capobianco mentioned, noting how he as soon as witnessed his spouse’s grandmother intently watching the TV Mass at her house, her palms folded in prayer as she joined alongside within the prayers of the Mass.
Along with its broadcast on Channel 50, the Sunday TV Mass might be seen anytime on the Archdiocese of Washington’s web site at https://adw.org/parishes-masses/sunday-tv-mass/ and on the Nationwide Shrine’s YouTube channel at www.youtube.com/user/marysshrine .
Perspective of Attraction supporters
Additionally within the Jan. 26 Annual Attraction on-line presentation, Deacon Eric Simontis, the Chief Monetary Officer for the Archdiocese of Washington, mentioned he helps the attraction as a result of he believes “it’s a vital part of our religion,” to share the items God has given us. He mentioned folks unable to assist the attraction financially can pray for its success and for the ministries it helps.
In an earlier e mail interview, Joe Rogers, a member of the Shrine of the Most Blessed Sacrament who’s serving on the Annual Attraction’s Advisory Committee, mentioned he remembered the phrases of a visiting Irish priest who inspired folks to be careful for Jesus within the crowd. And he mentioned he additionally stays impressed by the late Cardinal James Hickey, the previous archbishop of Washington, who mentioned that we serve these in want “not as a result of they’re Catholic, however as a result of we’re Catholic.”
“In a time when so many people are usually not out locally as a result of pandemic, maybe this yr greater than others it’s doubly vital to assist these in want even when we don’t see them instantly. And that’s what the Attraction does,” Rogers mentioned.
Father Michael King, the pastor of Jesus the Good Shepherd Parish in Owings, in an e mail mentioned the Annual Attraction “makes me consider a lot I already need to be grateful to God for that I so typically take with no consideration.”
The Calvert County pastor famous that his parish has a twinning relationship with a parish in Haiti, and he has witnessed the grueling poverty there. Native Catholics may also help to the poor within the Washington space and convey Christ to them by supporting the Annual Attraction and its works of charity, he mentioned.
“Collectively, the 2021 Annual Attraction unites the Archdiocese of Washington as one household,” he mentioned.
Catholics can assist the 2021 Annual Attraction by visiting attraction.adw.org or by responding to the mailing despatched in January.
