2019 Bishop’s Annual Appeal

CLIFTON  The Bishop’s Annual Appeal (BAA) is set to kick off at Masses in parishes across the Dio­cese this weekend, Sept. 14-15, giving the faithful the opportunity to once again support the good works of the Church of Paterson. Guided by the theme, “For I was hungry…”, the appeal invites parishioners to help fund ministries that serve the poor, the sick and the needy through diocesan Catholic Charities; urban elementary school students; diocesan seminarians; priests’ extraordinary healthcare needs and priests living at Nazareth Village, the diocesan priests’ retirement residence in Chester. Parishes also have the opportunity by exceeding their goal to receive a parish rebate, which can be used for the parish’s own needs.

Because of a massive fire that destroyed the halfway house at Straight and Narrow, a diocesan Catholic Charities agency, 10 percent of funds raised for the 2019 BAA will be used toward the rebuilding efforts. For more details, see related story on page 2.

To prepare for the 2019 BAA, pastors, priests and lay appeal chairpersons attended a kick-off meeting with Bishop Serratelli on Sept. 5 at the St. Pope John Paul II Center here. The Diocesan Develop­ment Office coordinates the Bishop’s Annual Appeal. Last year’s Appeal through the work of pastors and volunteers, and the generosity of the faithful, raised $4,376,496 in pledges.

During the meeting, the Bishop spoke about the importance of serving those in need. “We see all kinds of poverty surrounding us and as people of faith we want to do all that we can to help our brothers and sisters in need. If there is one thread that unites both the Old and the New Testaments, it is the mandate to care for those in need. As people whose hearts are close to God I ask you to support in any way you can this year’s Bishop’s Annual Appeal. I cannot thank enough all our pastors and priests, our chairpersons for the great efforts you have made in the past and I know you will make in the future to help our Annual Appeal accomplish its goal in helping the needy among us. Your enthusiasm, your hard work, your cooperation are essential.”

Starting tomorrow, personalized letters will be sent from the Bishop’s Office inviting parishioners to donate to the Appeal. During the kick-off weekend, Lay Appeal Chairpersons will speak at Masses to encourage participation. Bulletin announcements will be made for parishioners to understand more about the Appeal. The second weekend of October, pastors will give a homily on behalf of the Appeal. During weekend Masses of Oct. 19-20, the In-Pew Com­mitment Weekend will take place in each of the parishes to invite parishioners to make a pledge or donation.

To make the Appeal a success, the work and commitment of the pastors and lay appeal chairpersons are essential and have been proven through past Appeals and capital campaigns. “The plan to make the Appeal has been carefully worked out, and it works,” the Bishop said at the meeting. “When the plan is followed and where it is followed, the Annual Appeal has always been a great success.”

Msgr. James Mahoney, diocesan vicar general and moderator of the curia, who recently retired as the longtime pastor of Corpus Christi Parish in Chatham Township, said, “I was a pastor for a lifetime and one of the things I didn’t like to do was ask people for money until about five years ago. I started realizing that we ask people to contribute to what we are about, which is the work of Jesus. If we don’t believe in that, then what are we doing? I came to see asking people to contribute is in fact saying please come and share in the joy of the Gospel. This is what is important.”

The largest percentage of the Appeal supports Diocesan Catholic Charities agencies. Each year, diocesan agencies provide help to tens of thousands of people in need. Donations support a variety of programs and services in all three counties of the diocese. These agencies provide day care and extended day care for children of working poor families; assist in transportation for the elderly and medically frail; provide individual and family counseling; operate emergency food banks; provide adult day care for economically disadvantaged seniors, and housing and case management for persons with HIV/AIDS; operate group homes for adults with disabilities; give family support and case-management for families with developmentally and intellectually disabled adults, and offer substance abuse counseling, legal services for low income immigrants, programs for at risk youth and much more.

Because of the support given to Catholic Charities through the Appeal, there is a speakers’ network of representatives from these agencies, who have offered to speak at parishes and share the good news about how important the Appeal is to their services. Parishioners are also invited to visit diocesan Catholic Charities agencies to see firsthand where donations are being used.

In addition to Catholic Charities, the Appeal supports inner-city Catholic schools with financial aid to assist families to afford Catholic education, help with technology upgrades to enhance the academic programs offered in schools and support of school activities.

In addition, the Appeal helps fund education for diocesan seminarians. This is especially important since the number of seminarians has increased dramatically in recent years, along with the cost of formation. The Appeal also supports priests’ extraordinary healthcare needs a well as Nazareth Village, the diocesan priests’ retirement residence in Chester.

Similar to appeals in the past, parishes have the opportunity to receive a parish rebate. Half of the amount received over the parish goal is returned to the parish for its own needs. Almost $650,000 was returned to parishes from last year’s Bishop’s Annual Appeal and more than $2.9 million in last five years.

The faithful are reminded that funds raised through the Bishop’s Annual Appeal are used only for these goals. The funds raised in the Paterson Diocese stay in the Paterson Diocese.

To provide financial support to the 2019 BAA, there are several ways to help: One time gifts or pledges paid over several months with reminders sent for the donor’s convenience; credit card contributions; online gifts, or in person at the Bishops Annual Appeal Office.

PATERSON  To assist Straight and Narrow (S&N), a diocesan Catholic Charities agency, following a massive fire there Aug. 24, 10 percent of funds raised from the 2019 Bishop’s Annual Appeal (BAA) will be used toward the rebuilding efforts. S&N is the largest non-profit drug and alcohol rehabilitation center in the country and the fire impacted many people whose lives are already made difficult because of the grip of addiction.

The fire destroyed S&N’s 410 Straight Street facility here, which housed a 50-bed halfway house for men, a women’s clinical office and storage space for donations such as mens and womens clothing and other items. Several passenger vans were also destroyed in the fire. Two-hundred people including ten infants were evacuated at the time of the fire with no reported injuries.

Angela Nikolovski, executive director at S&N, spoke at the BAA kick-off meeting before pastors and lay appeal chairpersons at the St. John Paul II Center in Clifton Sept. 5. “Experiencing this was overwhelming to say the least,” she told those at the meeting. “This was a major catastrophe for S&N. With the support from the BAA, S&N’s vision to rebuild a facility that provides a safe haven to so many can be realized. Our vision is to have a facility where all services can be provided to meet all the clients’ needs. In rebuilding, we can demonstrate resiliency and strength to our clients and to the community at large.”

The need for parishioners to support in the rebuilding of S&N is essential since it is important to note that insurance simply does not cover the cost of the entire rebuilding effort.

Richard Ziccardi, diocesan risk manager, explained to pastors and lay appeal chairpersons at the meeting, that, “The first $250,000 toward the process comes from the Diocese. Additionally, any changes to the original footprint when designing the new structure will not be covered by insurance and so there will be additional costs for an S&N building that meets their needs for now and in the future.”

The drug and alcohol treatment services of S&N are vast and include in addition to the halfway house for men, an in-patient drug and alcohol detoxification, residential addiction treatment for men and women including pregnant women, the Intoxicated Drivers Resource Center, telehealth services, medication assisted therapy and the Msgr. Mark Giordani Center for Rehabilitation.

Diocesan chief development officer Tim Potter said, “With a successful Appeal, we can help S&N continue to be in the forefront of addiction services for people in need throughout our Diocese.”

Nikolovski added, “We will continue to provide much needed treatment services during the opioid epidemic, continue to save lives and most of all, the BAA will allow us to continue our mission of providing help and creating hope to those most in need.”