Diocesan Campaign Update

02-09-2020Weekly ReflectionFr. Chris Axline

I want to thank you for your generous support to the Together Let Us Go Forth Campaign for the Diocese of Phoenix. This diocesan wide campaign will provide the necessary resources for both current and future generations of Catholics to have an encounter with Christ and to develop a relationship with Him. Our Parish and Diocese can only accomplish this important work through the sacrificial gifts you have made through your pledge.

It is with great gratitude that I thank you for your commitment to fulfilling your pledge, which is so vital to our growth and our success. I would like to take a moment to update you on the progress of the campaign. While we did not make our assessed goal of $1,519,803, we did receive $752,385 in promised pledges. This is fantastic and we should not be discouraged as a parish. We did not fail. In fact, I want to acknowledge that the timing of this campaign was not ideal; especially in light of our own needs and our campaign to build the parish hall. However,

I am grateful, humbled, and impressed by your sacrificial offerings to that campaign on top of the support you already provide St. Mary Magdalene on a weekly basis.

That we were able to generate as much revenue as we did is a testament to you and your investment in both St. Mary Magdalene and the Diocese of Phoenix. As we now redeem our pledges of $752,385 remember that 35% of collected monies comes back to St. Mary Magdalene. This means that we will receive a total of $263,334 over the next five years to use for our church renovations and sacred art enhancement. As a reminder, pledges are paid directly to the Diocese of Phoenix.

For more information on how to make your pledge, or your payments, please visit www.togethergoforth.org. You may also contact myself (pastor@smarymag.org) or Shari Stenborg (shari@smarymag.org) with questions.

In February (Later this month), St. Mary Magdalene we will receive our first disbursement totaling 35% of what has been collected between announcing the campaign and the end of January. We will continue to receive 35% of redeemed monies every February and August until 2025.

To help with this endeavor I have assembled a small team, representative of every demographic in our parish, in order to ensure that the art that will adorn our building is both fitting for the liturgy but also represents YOU! That team and I are working with a local artist and await a final rendering. Once this rendering is complete, then I will present it to the parish. This process will take several months, both while the artist renders and conceptualizes and as we collect funds, so I ask for your patience and prayers.

Personally, looking back on this campaign, it was a fantastic opportunity for me to visit with many of you and get to know you. Thank you to those families I met with prior to publicizing this campaign for your hospitality and inviting me into your home! If I have not yet been over to your house for dinner (and a house blessing) I would enjoy doing so. Please email either myself (pastor@smarymag.org) or my assistant Jackie Sullivan (admin@smarymag.org) if you would like to setup a time for me to come over for dinner (and yes, I did just invite myself over to your house for dinner). That is what this campaign is about: relationships—me having a chance to get to know my flock so that I can better serve you.

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