Bulletin for Jan. 15, 2017

Dear friends in Christ,

Having celebrated the Solemnity of the Epiphany last weekend we now returned to Ordinary Time in the liturgical life of the Church. You will see the familiar green vestments for the next seven weeks in this interim period between the end of the season of Christmas and the season of Lent which begins on Ash Wednesday, March 1. Let’s resolve to use this time wisely and effectively to grow in our faith.

One great way to do this is through the Catholic website called Formed. We began offering this last year, and I’ve heard from a number of parishioners who have thoroughly enjoyed the many programs it has to offer. With Formed, you’ll find a host of video programs that explain the Catholic faith, explore the deepest meaning of marriage and other sacraments, offer Bible studies on a variety of topics, and have access to inspiring audio talks. New programs and offerings are added on a regular basis. Best of all, it’s absolutely free. We have a parish subscription and that means everyone at CtR can assess the programs at any time on their own device for no charge. Simply go to the website of  www.formed.org and enter our parish code of 3JZDRJ and see all it has to offer.

The beginning of the year is also a good time to look at how we are supporting the mission of the parish. We place an emphasis on Stewardship at CtR, that is returning to God what we have received through our time, talent and treasure. At the start of the year we might look to commit our time through personal prayer and devotion, and we might consider increasing our gift of talent by assisting with a particular ministry or organization in the parish that is in need of assistance. We should also resolve to take a renewed look at how we are responding with our treasure. How might I help further the mission of the Church through a gift of the financial resources that I have received? The size of the gift will differ with each one of us, but we all have a responsibility to the good of the community to give back in proportion to what we have received.

There are three main financial obligations we have as parishioners. One is the weekly offertory, the second is the Capital Campaign, and the third is the Diocesan Services Fund (DSF). Let me address them in reverse order. The DSF is the annual appeal by Cardinal DiNardo to support the more than 60 ministries of the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston. It always takes place early in the year. We are familiar with it as it helps fund the many ministries that no one parish could do on its own. We have a goal assigned by the cardinal, and I’m happy to say we have met and exceeded it the past 13 years. You’ll be hearing more about the 2017 DSF Program in the coming weeks.

Second is the “ Living Our Mission” Capital Campaign for our new Redeemer Activity Center. We began this last year and to date we have pledges from more than 880 families. Thank you to all who have made a gift. If you have not yet made your pledge, I ask that you make it a priority in the beginning of this new year to do so. Our website has all the information and forms are available in the narthex as well. It is imperative that we all do our part, no matter how great or small, to help us reach our goal. To date we have pledges of $4.1 million toward our goal of $6 million. Your pledge, payable over three years, will go a long way in helping us meet our obligations and provide room for our parish to grow. We are looking to break ground in the next two months, and again you will hear much more about this in the near future.

Finally, and perhaps most importantly, is our weekly offertory. I thank all who make it a point to support the parish every Sunday. It’s how we are able to pay our bills, compensate our hard-working staff, and continue the ministry and mission of the Church. Without your support, we can do none of that, so thank you for making it possible. So far in this fiscal year our weekly collections are down slightly over past years. That’s perhaps understandable given the Capital Campaign and the uncertain economy. It’s beginning to look like, however, that many more people are returning to work and there is cautious optimism in the city. Not in every instance, of course, but more and more.

If you have not reviewed your weekly tithe to the Church in some time, might I ask that you take a renewed look at it in the beginning of the year? I know I have done so in my own personal giving (yes, your pastor gives to all three areas of Stewardship – DSF, Capital Campaign, and weekly offertory), and I have found that I can “bump up” my contribution. If you can as well, I invite you to do so. If not at this time, perhaps you will be able to do it in a few months. But let’s all make a conscious decision to give proportionally and prayerfully in this new year.
One easy way to do so is through our automated giving program called Faith Direct. I encourage you to consider making this your mode to support the weekly offering (you can also give to the Capital Campaign through it). Most of us are accustomed to paying for items online on a regular basis. It’s how we do business in the 21st century as writing checks is a practice that has fallen out of favor. We pay for our mortgages, car payments, tuition, credit cards and nearly everything else electronically. Why not make your church contribution online as well? It’s fast, easy and secure.

You will find a Faith Direct enrollment form on page 8 of this week’s bulletin. I encourage you to complete it and enroll with the program by either mailing it to the address listed on the form or returning it to the Parish Office. Truth be told it’s even easier to enroll yourself by going to www.faithdirect.net and entering our parish code of TX150. In just a few minutes you will be signed up and you can decide how much you wish to give each week and how you might want to support the second collections. The size of offering is not important. That’s between you and the Lord to determine. Every gift is a blessing, and every gift is important.

Automated offertory giving is a great benefit to the giver since you can control how often, and how much, you’d like to offer each week, and how you want it to be collected (bank debit or credit card). It also makes it easier on you in that you need not worry about finding your checkbook and scribbling out a check weekly or hoping that you have an extra $20 in your wallet when the basket comes around. It also helps the parish have a consistent offertory each week when people are gone on vacation or miss Sunday Mass. We can budget more properly and meet our obligations more easily.

More than 500 of your fellow parishioners, including myself, have found Faith Direct to be a great blessing. Please consider joining us and making your gift of the treasure of Stewardship to our community. As always, I am grateful for your generous support to CtR. It’s truly humbling to me, and as your pastor, I pledge that we will use everything you entrust to us for the benefit of our parish and the furthering of the mission and ministry of the Church. Thank you very much.

Peace,
Fr. Sean