Capital Campaign Update: Parish Renewal, Vibrancy Initiative Empowers Catechists

October 18, 2022

One conversation with Stephanie Geraghty, coordinator of Religious Education and First Communion teacher at St. Mary in Avoca and St. Patrick in Walnut, will leave anyone inspired about religious education in her parishes – it certainly did for Bishop William Joensen. 

Her creative passion for engaging children in their faith is palpable and effective. 

Over the summer, she gave her second graders a challenge to read the entire Bible. The sweet reward for the kids who rose to the challenge – an ice cream party! 

By the end of the summer, most of them had completed the challenge.

Geraghty’s goals for religious education are centered around growth, continuity, and engagement. When asked about the Ignite! Campaign, she is already thinking about how her parishes will benefit from the Parish Renewal and Vibrancy initiative. 
They now have five teachers for religious education, and she plans to use the new endowment to help fund a retreat or workshop for teachers to continue learning, praying, and forming themselves so they can, in turn, continue doing that for the kids.

“When we revitalize teachers, that trickles down to the kids in religious education and then to their families, and ultimately our whole community,” Geraghty said. She continued by expressing hope that their efforts will result in bringing families back to Mass that haven’t returned since the pandemic. 

“We want our pews to be full and the church to be noisy,” she said. 

St. Patrick Parish in Imogene is another community focused on growth and engagement. 

In July, they hosted a “Bless Our Heritage” celebration to bless their Heritage Garden, which honors the priests and families who have been a part of their community throughout their 142-year history and includes a stepping-stone rosary used by children in their Youth Faith Formation program. 

“Our program spiritually guides kids as young as three years old through high school seniors in Catholic teachings, sacramental preparation, and prayer,” according to Rita Laughlin, director of Religious Education at St. Patrick. 

The program meets in a 100-year-old former convent across the street from the church. The parish is using some of their parish share from Ignite! to update the original windows in the convent. 

“This will not only provide a more welcoming and safer environment for our youth,” Laughlin said, “but also sends a clear message that our youth matter, and the efforts of our catechists are important.”

Laughlin is also excited about how St. Patrick’s will benefit from the Parish Renewal and Vibrancy initiative, particularly in developing faith leaders who are on fire with the Holy Spirit and passionate about bringing people closer to Jesus.

“We have a long list of parishioners who fit that description, and we are excited about the opportunities provided through Parish Renewal and Vibrancy,” Laughlin said. “We will bring committees together to create a common vision for our parish to grow in our faith together.”

Campaign surpasses $25 million

Most Wave 3 parishes kicked off their campaigns in early October. Meanwhile, parishes from Wave 2 have started to make goal, helping the campaign surpass $25 million.

Ss. Peter and Paul Parish in Atlantic, with 248 registered families, recently went over its Ignite! goal of $285,000. 
“What made a difference for us was our people – not only our strong leadership team, but also our engaged group of volunteers. Their positive attitude was infectious,” said Father Trevor Chicoine, pastor of Ss. Peter and Paul.  

“It helped that our leadership identified a project our parishioners were excited about and motivated to support. The funds from our parish share will lay the foundation to modernize our parish center,” he said. 

St. Anne Parish in Logan with 140 families has also recently eclipsed its goal of $100,000. 

Father Raphael Masabakhwa, pastor of St. Anne’s, and Mike and Cindy O’Kane, the campaign chairpersons, embraced their role and recruited a team of six volunteers who set out to contact every registered family in the parish. 

St. Anne Parish will primarily use their “parish share” to replace the heating and air conditioning systems and reduce debt.

“The parishioners of St. Anne’s in Logan are wonderful people who have listened to the call of the Holy Spirit, praise God!” said Mike and Cindy O’Kane.

Now that Ss. Peter and Paul and St. Anne Parishes have exceeded their campaign goals, they get to keep 75% of any gifts they receive going forward.

To learn more about Parish Renewal and Vibrancy and support the Ignite! Campaign, visit https://www.dmdiocese.org/giving/ignite