Parishes need your help

Collection boxes, Our Lady of Mount Carmel and St. Simon Stock, Kensington Church Street, Kensington, London W8. Edwardx, Wikimedia Commons.

July 13, 2020
Rod Linhares

The past few months have been unprecedented.  We’ve all been impacted by the shelter-in-place mandate, by the virus itself, and/or by the economic shutdown.  This has been a most challenging period.
 
Parishes need your help
 
At the same time, these past few months have vividly demonstrated our concern for each other and our sense of community.  There have been countless instances of parishioners demonstrating the love, sacrifice and care for their fellow human beings that epitomizes our faith. 
 
Members of our parish communities have checked in on their neighbors, run errands, brought food and supported others in a variety of other ways. All of this should be a great source of pride for all of us as Catholics. 
 
This has also been a time in which many parishioners have been looking to engage with fellow members of their parish families. Priests throughout the archdiocese have responded to this desire for community in beautiful and creative ways.
 
Whether it’s been through livestreaming Mass, leading morning and evening prayers, offering reflections, providing online retreats or via one of many other ways, our priests have reached out to their parish families.  Their ongoing commitment to engage parishioners and innovation during the past months have been inspiring. 
 
Regrettably, this has also been a time of tremendous financial uncertainty for many parishes. A number have experienced severe decreases in income due to the inability of parishioners to attend Mass in person. 
 
Parishes rely on the financial support of their parishioners to fund several critical items.  In particular, weekly giving (offertory) supports a variety of parish expenses. Examples include priests’ room, board and salaries, parish staff salaries and benefits, plant utilities and general maintenance, faith formation and various ministries, and in some cases community outreach. 
 
We realize that many people are now experiencing increased financial constraints, which makes us especially thankful to all who have continued to support your own parishes during these past months. 
 
Whether it’s been through your parish’s online giving program, dropping off or mailing your envelope, using the new Lifeline link on the archdiocese web site, or providing your financial support in another way, your ongoing commitment to your parish and continued generosity are vital. Without your support, critical parish programs could be curtailed or even eliminated.  
 
It is your support – both financial and otherwise – that makes our church so special and gives us faith in what is to come.  We thank you, and we look with great anticipation to the day when we can all again celebrate Mass as one in our churches.

Rod Linhares is development director for the Archdiocese of San Francisco.