‘We don’t live in silos’ says Archbishop Thompson at Circle of Giving event
Archbishop Charles C. Thompson offers a homily during a Mass for the archdiocesan Office of Stewardship and Development’s Circle of Giving event on May 11 at SS. Peter and Paul Cathedral in Indianapolis. (Photo by Natalie Hoefer)
By Natalie Hoefer
The Church in central and southern Indiana is vast: 39 counties, 126 parishes, 67 Catholic schools, five Catholic Charities centers.
Each has borders within which they serve—and Catholic support from within those borders.
But some needs are greater than a local community can address, and some needs know no boundaries: housing the homeless, feeding the poor, forming priests and deacons, helping pregnant women choose life for their unborn children.
“When we look at how we’re carrying on the mission and ministry of the local Church, it always has to be in the context of the larger Church,” said Archbishop Charles C. Thompson. “We don’t live in isolation or silos from one another.”
The archbishop made this point in his homily at a Mass on May 11 at SS. Peter and Paul Cathedral in Indianapolis. The Mass and a dinner and presentation were part of a Circle of Giving event sponsored by the archdiocesan Office of Stewardship and Development.
‘Reach out, warm hearts, heal wounds’
During the homily, Archbishop Thompson paraphrased the day’s Gospel reading from John 15: 9-11.
“Jesus says, ‘If you love me, you will keep my commandments and your joy will be complete’,” he said. “The commandments are … calling us to do things, to reach out, to care, to give, to love.”
He said the ministries of the archdiocese are meant to “reach out to people, warm hearts, to heal wounds—meaning to listen, to meet people where they’re at.
“But we don’t leave them there. We teach them to bring them along to more fully live the joy of the Gospel and living in Christ.”
Pointing to the altar, Archbishop Thompson called it “the center of our universe, because here is where we receive the very, the real presence of Jesus, the body and blood, soul and divinity. This is what nourishes us. This is what sustains us. This is what shapes our identity and our mission, and our understanding of who we are, and how we carry out our mission, our ministries, and our services.”
He thanked those present “for your witness, for continuing to allow the Church to flourish here in central and southern Indiana, for being witnesses to the good news of Christ through our various ministries and services, providing the world with something desperately needed that it cannot produce on its own. And if it doesn’t come through our witness, where will it come from?”
‘The list goes on and on’
At the dinner following the Mass, Jolinda Moore shared the extent of the witness shown through United Catholic Appeal (UCA) donations and the creation of Catholic Community Foundation (CCF) planned giving funds.
“This fiscal year for the United Catholic Appeal, we’ve collected more than $5.1 million in gifts or pledges,” said Moore, executive director of the archdiocesan Office of Stewardship and Development. She noted that “100% of those gifts directly support the ministries of our Church through programs, service and services.
“They help with things like putting our young men through training for vocations at Bishop Simon Bruté College Seminary [in Indianapolis], formation and care for our retired priests, young adult campus ministry programs, youth ministries, and the many programs of Catholic Charities. The list goes on and on, and so does the ripple effect of your support.”
Moore also reported an increase in the number of new endowments managed by the Catholic Community Foundation. Fifteen new funds were added in the last fiscal year, bringing the total number to 569.
“Those funds are restricted to different ministry programs that support parishes, schools and agencies,” she explained. “From the Catholic Community Foundation, our parishes, schools, cemeteries and ministries benefited from more than $9.9 million in distributions last year.”
A video featuring the Kruer family—whose circle of giving story includes more than 70 years of a continued presence at Our Lady of Providence High School in Clarksville as well as a CCF endowment—was shown at the event, which was attended by members of the Miter Society (those who contribute $1,500 or more to the UCA) and members of the Legacy Society (those who have created a CCF fund). The video can be viewed at alax99.lnkiy.in/KruerVideo.
‘More than just the local parish’
Other witnesses shared their stories with The Criterion during the event.
Steve Keucher noted that “so many things couldn’t get done if there wasn’t help from the United Catholic Appeal to draw on.”
He said he and his wife Diane, members of St. Charles Borromeo Parish in Bloomington, have contributed to the appeal “for many decades.”
Steve noted that the appeal “made a big difference in supporting” their son, Father Michael Keucher, as he received his priestly formation at Saint Meinrad Seminary and School of Theology in St. Meinrad.
“There’s more than just local parishes involved in the Catholic Church,” Diane added.
Bob and Nancy Poole of St. Jude Parish in Indianapolis agreed.
“When we give to St. Jude, that helps the parish,” said Bob. “But the United Catholic Appeal, it’s helping the needy [throughout the archdiocese].”
Nancy gave credit to God for the couple’s blessings.
“We just feel that we should contribute [to the UCA] and pay our blessings forward to help others in need,” she said.
“The Lord calls us to do that,” Bob added.
While Glenn and Laura Tebbe of
St. Mary Parish in Greensburg contribute to the UCA, they also “pay it forward” through the CCF. Glenn and some of his family members created a CCF fund to care for the cemetery at the Oratory of SS. Philomena and Cecilia in Oak Forest, where their parents are buried.
“This is a small amount of money that enables them to continue to take care of the cemetery and take care of some of the older gravestones that are there,” he said.
Glenn and Laura also established a CCF fund to support the religion and language arts curriculum and professional development for those areas of education at St Mary School in Greensburg.
“St. Mary’s is like our fifth kid,” said Laura. Glenn was a principal there for many years. Laura served there as a teacher and their four children and two of their grandchildren graduated from the school.
Laura volunteers there now, helping junior high students with English and literature.
“I get to see the fund personally take effect,” she said. “The teacher I work with is always taking a course for professional development.”
The couple is grateful for the CCF.
“It’s really important to have the opportunity to make sure that things can be taken care of on an ongoing basis” for the archdiocese’s parishes, schools, organizations, cemeteries and more, said Glenn.
‘Say thanks to God, but to do thanks as well’
In his closing remarks, Archbishop Thompson quoted from an Angelus address Pope Francis offered in 2014.
“How many times we turn away so as not to see our brothers in need,” the archbishop cited from the 2014 address. “And this looking away is a polite way to say, with white gloves, ‘Sort it out for yourselves.’ And this is not Jesus’ way.”
Archbishop Thompson noted that the Catholic faith “teaches us when we pool our strengths and resources, we are able to build on our ministries and help our brothers and sisters in need throughout the archdiocese.
“Our faith also calls us not only to say thanks to God, but to do thanks as well. This expression of gratitude to God in action is called stewardship.”
He acknowledged that it “takes a lot of resources to operate Catholic Charities, to provide a Catholic education to our children and to educate our seminarians.”
To all who help make these efforts possible by contributing to the UCA or creating a CCF fund, the archbishop had this message:
“Your financial gifts not only provide for our Church today, but assist us as we plan for the future. The witness you are providing through your stewardship is helping to create a culture of giving in your parishes and throughout the archdiocese. Thank you.”
(For more information or to contribute to the United Catholic Appeal, contact director of annual appeals and creative services Dana Stone at 317-236-1591 or dstone@archindy.org. For information on the Catholic Community Foundation, contact archdiocesan executive director of the Office of Stewardship and Development Jolinda Moore at 317-236-1462 or jmoore@archindy.org.) †
