Saint Mary of the Immaculate Conception Roman Catholic Church

Dear Good People of Saint Mary,

What an amazing parish you are! Looking back over January, thinking about all the activities we packed into the month, what with Family Week in Religious Education, Catholic Schools Week, all the preparation for two Called and Gifted Workshops and the great response you have had so far for the Lenten Friends small group Bible study program — well, it is amazing.

As I write this, the big Called and Gifted Workshop still hasn’t happened, but attendance looks like it will be well over 300 people. It will be one of the largest efforts in gifts discernment that any parish has ever attempted. Add to that about 180 parish leaders, faculty and staff from three other Workshops and you have quite a significant number who have begun the work of inviting the Holy Spirit into their lives of service in an intentional way.

Do you know what might be the result of all this? Already we are a parish that is far above the national (far, far above the international average) of Mass attendance, just under half, I figure. (Most places count a good attendance as 20-22%.) Based on the figure that we see about half, or 8,000 parishioners on a regular basis every Sunday, that means that one of every 16 active parishioners will have been blessed with the opportunity to stop for a day and consider a deeper calling from God, and more actively seek to understand the working of the Holy Spirit in their lives. That is a pretty high percentage. It will raise the sensitivity that we have of one another in seeking to help each other grow in ways that we are being called to live and serve, and our culture might slowly begin to change. If only we as a Church could do this on a massive scale! The Holy Spirit can only work among those who have an awareness of him, and a welcome.

Then, add to that so many who have signed up for the new Bible study small group program BETRANSFORMED this Lent. Already over 100 people have planned to participate — probably several times that by the time you are reading this article. Not only do we Catholics have a lot of work to do to get acquainted with texts of the Bible, but the principal value of this program is getting comfortable with sharing the faith that we have. We tend not to be “wired” for small groups, to speak freely about our feelings or about our faith. Catholics tend to be introverts in this area. But in the context of friends, we can practice that sharing skill and become more effective evangelizers, and therefore more likely to speak when needed in uncomfortable situations as well. In the process, our friendships grow, and we may even make new friends.

Last week I also had the opportunity to participate in Catholic Advocacy Day at the Virginia General Assembly. We gathered with Bishops Loverde and DiLorenzo in the morning and heard an overview of the Catholic viewpoint on major areas of legislation that are proposed for this session, then caucused according to districts to plan our conversations with our elected officials and practice what we planned to say when our appointments took place later in the morning.

Our group — Sister Susan Louise, Rick Caporali, Jim Carlson, Gregg Carneal, Tess Thome, Maureen Guilfoyle, and Dr. Trish Barber (principal of Saint Francis in Triangle) made our way to meetings with Senators Reeves and Stuart and Delegate Cole to speak on the topics of life protection and taxpayer subsidy, immigration, education, the death penalty, guns after hours in private schools, TANF reform and rapid rehousing initiatives for the homeless, among others. Our conversations were well-received, and we left with a sense that we had spent the day well.

I always wonder, afterward, how this day comes and goes with so little notice. If we truly have the opportunity to speak out and help shape the laws of our society according to our  beliefs, then it is a wonder to me that we all don’t take the day off and flood the capitol with information and voters. Over the past ten years, we have made a significant difference in the deliberations of our state legislature.

We especially thank Jeff Caruso, our parishioner and Executive Director of the Virginia Catholic Conference, for his constant attention to these matters, and to his staff who do such a nice job making all of us feel organized and valued in the work of advocacy.

Now Lent is less than two weeks away. Don’t forget to get in as much chocolate and TV as you can while there is still time. 🙂

God bless you.

Dear Good People of Saint Mary,

This week as I am writing this bulletin article I’m in the middle of signing 5,200 end-of-year statements to all you parishioners for your tax records for giving last year! I have completed 2,800 for those who have no record of giving, and am about to get started on the other 2,400. I was visiting with some friends from a large parish in northern Virginia over the weekend and they said that they had already received theirs last week!

We get mixed responses from people every year, and I wanted to offer some comments which might make the process less irritating. First, we don’t do it to make people feel bad about
how much they gave, or didn’t give. We are required to report back to you how much your charitable giving was last year to the parish for tax purposes, in case we got it wrong and so you have a document to file. There have been instances in the past where we have missed some gifts and people have corrected us—this is why we have to send zero-giving letters, too. Each year I believe we are better at our recordkeeping, but there is always the occasional error, and we have to hear from you.

As I write in the letter, a zero-giving letter doesn’t mean that you may not give cash, or are generous in many other ways. Again, there is no judgment on our part, we just have a report to make.

Some people say that they don’t want a report because their giving is something for which they don’t want a tax deduction. I think this is fine, too, but if you consider what some of our tax dollars are being spent on these days (some things which even violate our conscience rights as Catholics), maybe it would be good to keep as much as you can for things you would really like to support.

Some people say that they are offended that we would make their giving records public. This is also a misunderstanding. Only I and a select few of our staff even have access to the database where we are required to record all gifts, and these same people prepare the statements and mail them each year. There is no publication or opportunity for anyone to review these records. They are only between you and me and God. Even the diocese of Arlington, when they prepare lists of people we are to ask for special gifts (as in the recent Leadership Initiative Campaign), have only at their disposal records of previous diocesan capital campaigns, public records, Bishop’s Lenten Appeal history, or other gifts made directly to the diocese. They do not access our parish database for demographic or financial information.

Another interesting misconception has to do with so many who are coming into our country from other countries. National statistics show that giving is down simply because newcomers don’t realize that the Church in the United States depends entirely on private donations in the weekly offertory. In European or Latin American countries, Central and South America, government subsidies maintain the properties, set and pay for budgets and often even pay salaries for parish employees. Here that is not the case. Each expense of the parish—program, service or outreach—is only possible if you give to the parish. Most churches today do not see an offertory growth that equals the growth in the cost of living, and church utilities, expenses and payroll go up year just like those of everybody else.

As I said, I’m between the letters for those who have no record of giving and all those who do. This many families—2,800—might even give only $20 a year which would be like a second Easter collection. We would be on target for our annual budget. But God has always provided what we need, and he touches everyone at different times to support the parish in various ways.

New means of electronic giving through Faith Direct have made a regular gift to the Church more convenient and more regular for about 220 families, and that number is growing all the time. You might consider this as an option.

Please know how much your support of the parish is needed—and appreciated. We don’t have opportunity to thank you enough for what you
provide. We have so much going on here at Saint Mary and have made a difference in the lives of so many people… it is because you have provided the financial support to make it happen. It won’t—it can’t—happen without you.

Please accept my sincere gratitude as you receive your tax statements from Saint Mary this week, and don’t hesitate to let us know if there is something that needs correction. It is a privilege and a great happiness to serve as your pastor.

God bless you.