Bishop’s Appeal provides deacon formation and training

The Bishop’s Appeal 2014 has received nearly $2.5 million from 14,000 families.  This is terrific progress, but there is much more to accomplish.
If you are still contemplating your gift, consider how the Bishop’s Appeal helps deacons minister in our local parishes.

Every day deacons answer Jesus’ call to serve others. They minister to the needs of people and bring Christ into our daily lives.  The Bishop’s Appeal assists deacons in their pre-ordination training, as well in their post-ordination continuing education.

Without the Bishop’s Appeal, it would be difficult to have a quality formation process, or to provide the support services needed for the ordained diaconate community. Help support deacons in their training and formation with a gift to the Bishop’s Appeal.

Pope Francis Lenten Message

He became poor, so that by his poverty you might become rich (cf. 2 Cor 8:9)

As Lent draws near, I would like to offer some helpful thoughts on our path of conversion as individuals and as a community. These insights are inspired by the words of Saint Paul: “For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that by his poverty you might become rich” (2 Cor 8:9). The Apostle was writing to the Christians of Corinth to encourage them to be generous in helping the faithful in Jerusalem who were in need. What do these words of Saint Paul mean for us Christians today? What does this invitation to poverty, a life of evangelical poverty, mean for us today?

1. Christ’s grace

First of all, it shows us how God works. He does not reveal himself cloaked in worldly power and wealth but rather in weakness and poverty: “though He was rich, yet for your sake he became poor …”.

Continue reading the Holy Father’s full message

Photo by Presidência da Republica/Roberto Stuckert Filho (Agência Brasil) [CC-BY-3.0-br (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/br/deed.en)], via Wikimedia Commons

Operation Rice Bowl Lent Activity

Ash Wednesday, March 5, marks the beginning of Lent. To enrich your journey and make a difference in the lives of others, Catholic Relief Services (CRS) invites us to enhance our Lenten experience through
prayer, fasting, learning and almsgiving.

Follow the Lenten Calendar from CRS designed to help you learn about our world and hard realities in our global family.  Read personal stories about the people CRS helps every day, daily reflections, and recipes for meatless meals.  Use a special bowl to collect coins in conjunction with the calendar as a way of sharing our many blessings.

As always, 75% of your contribution to Operation Rice Bowl supports CRS’ humanitarian relief programs in nearly 100 countries worldwide.  25% remains in our diocese to support the fight against local hunger and poverty.  Through the Catholic Foundation’s World Missions department we support the outreach ministry of Catholic Relief Services.

Learn more at www.crsricebowl.org

Bishop’s Appeal supports Catholic Charities Counseling Services

A wedding is an exciting event!  But what happens when the honeymoon is over?  Marriage is hard.  Issues like poor communication, financial stress, family problems, infidelity, and resentment can weaken a marriage.

Catholic Charities Counseling Services provides a light out of the darkness.  Your gift to the Bishop’s Appeal helps to promote healthy marriages.  Did you know that in 2013, 21% of our distributions from the Bishop’s Appeal went to support the services provided by Catholic Charities?  Your gift today helps Catholic Charities reach out to those in need.  Currently, Bishop’s Appeal 2014 has raised more than $1.2 million from families across the Diocese.

Foundation supports the Shrine of Our Lady of Good Help

The Shrine of Our Lady of Good Help sits quietly in Northeastern Wisconsin, surrounded by dairy farms and rolling cornfields. Seemingly untouched by our modern world, for over 150 years it has been a place where the faithful have come to seek intercession from the Blessed Virgin Mother.

The Catholic Foundation assists the Shrine by doing an annual fundraising campaign, encouraging people to establish endowments that benefit the Shrine and by helping people leave a legacy by remembering the Shrine in their wills and estates. To help the Shrine today, please consider making a gift.

If you would like more information on how you may leave a legacy to support the Shrine of Our Lady of Good Help, your parish or other ministries and programs in the Diocese of Green Bay, please contact Cindi Brawner at 920-272-8173 or Josh Diedrich at 920-272-8197.

Impacting Lives for more than Fifteen Years

Since its founding in 1997, the Catholic Foundation for the Diocese of Green Bay has distributed more than $19,000,000 to support Church ministries and services for the spiritual, educational, and social needs of
God’s people.

We can help you:

• Make a gift that immediately makes a difference
• Make a gift that both gives you a life income and helps others
• Make a gift that will help others later through deferred giving
• Make a gift to a new or existing fund that
  benefits a parish or ministry

Whether you are interested in assisting a ministry of the Church, educating our seminarians, remembering the Church in your will, helping your parish or the Church in many other ways bring Christ to thousands of people throughout Northeastern Wisconsin, the Catholic Foundation can assist you.

Each gift helps. Thank you on behalf of everyone you are assisting.

To learn more about how we can help you with your charitable intentions, please review our Annual Report or Contact Us today!