Catholic Arkansas Sharing Appeal will launch its $2 million appeal during Masses Feb. 5-6 across the state.
Funds raised from the appeal support a variety of diocesan, parish and school programs that would not be possible without broad support across the diocese.
“We wouldn’t be where we are now without the help of a lot of people,” said Dianne Brady, interim development director. “It takes a lot of help to maintain where we are.”
As he has done for the past two years, Bishop Anthony B. Taylor will deliver his homily in English and Spanish in all parishes via an audio recording. Parishioners will then be given time after the homily to consider their pledge and fill out an envelope during Mass. Parishioners can make a one-time gift or make a pledge that is paid out over the next 10 months.
This year’s theme is “We are a Mission Diocese and a Diocese with a Mission,” which was taken from the bishop’s homily. Posters and advertisements for CASA this year feature a drawing of the first Catholic church in Arkansas, which was built in 1834. St. Mary Church in Plum Bayou (Jefferson County) still stands.
Bishop Taylor noted that groups and religious orders from outside Arkansas support the diocese in addition to generous Catholics inside the state support diocesan projects.
 2011 CASA SupportClick here |
“It is sometimes easy for us to forget how much we still are a mission Church, in terms of distance and population,” he said. “Territorially we are the largest diocese east of the Rockies and though half of our Catholics live within a 2 1/2-hour radius of Little Rock, the other half lives in 47 parishes and missions farther away.”
In 2010, Brady said CASA came within $72,000 of meeting its $2 million goal. This is extremely impressive considering the collection for victims of the Haiti earthquake occurred one week prior, Bishop Taylor noted in his homily. Brady said she was happy to see at least 60 parishes meeting or exceeding their goals.
Bishop Taylor is challenging households to give 1 percent of their income to CASA this year as part of their regular tithing.
“This year our needs are even greater than before. We now have 34 seminarians and one discerner, up eight from last year’s 27 — and that’s even after ordaining five new priests last summer,” he said. “We are a growing Church. We have doubled in size these last 30 years and now constitute about 6 percent of the population of our state. It’s exciting to be a Catholic in Arkansas these days.”
Brady said she would like to see more individuals and families give to CASA this year, even if it is only a few dollars. Last year 7,821 households participated, which is only 17 percent of the registered Catholics in the diocese.
“We still don’t have the participation that we should have,” she said.
To donate to CASA, fill out a pledge envelope at your parish, visit www.dolr.org or call (501) 664-0340.
2011 CASA Support
For 2011, the programs supported will include:
Diocesan ministries: $550,000
Parish and mission support: $250,000
Youth and campus ministry: $150,000
Grants to Catholic schools: $100,000
Grants to religious education programs: $100,000
Clergy Welfare Fund: $100,000
Seminarian education expenses: $75,000
Catholic Charities of Arkansas: $75,000
Catholic Adoption Services: $75,000
The McDonald Center construction: $475,000
