January 2012

This month, the parish portion of the Our Cathedral: One Faith, One People campaign begins with 42 parishes and missions taking part in Block 1. The remaining parishes and missions will conduct the campaign in Block 2, from August until December.

Every parish will have a Campaign Leadership Committee to organize and conduct the Campaign at the local level. Part of the Committee’s responsibility will be to refine the Campaign message to best reflect how the Campaign will serve both the needs of the parish community and the Diocese.

Every parishioner of the Diocese will be provided multiple opportunities to participate in the Campaign. First and foremost will be a reception hosted by the local parish, which will provide details of the Cathedral Campaign Facilities project and address parishioner questions.

During 2012, the Bishop’s Annual Appeal will be incorporated into the Our Cathedral: One Faith, One People campaign. The first funds collected in each parish in the Cathedral Campus Campaign will go to satisfy the Bishop’s Annual Appeal goal, to guarantee the ongoing support of the broader mission of the Catholic Church in Eastern North Carolina.

The list of Block 1 parishes and the pastoral and social ministry programs supported by the Bishop’s Annual Appeal can be found in the January/February issue of the NC Catholics.

Cathedral Corner

Every year, parishioners in the Diocese provide assistance to the less fortunate through their donations to the Bishop's Annual Appeal (BAA). Over 20% of the funds from the BAA support the work of Catholic Charities in its seven regional offices. The BAA portion makes up 31% of the Catholic Charities annual budget. This past year, Catholic Charities in the Diocese of Raleigh helped more than 55,000 individuals with emergency assistance, family support services, counseling, disaster relief and social ministry with parishes.

The remainder of the Bishop’s Annual Appeal is used to fund thirty-one Diocesan pastoral and charitable programs. For more than thirty years, parishioner support of the BAA has assisted hundreds of thousands of people in eastern North Carolina and helped to enrich the faith life of our parish communities. The Bishop’s Annual Appeal is vital to our mission to provide for the needs of the faithful and all of God’s children.

Based on the recommendation of pastors and pastoral administrators, the 2012 BAA will be incorporated into the Our Cathedral: One Faith, One People campaign, which is also designed to assist the needs of each parish.

Each parish will have a Total Campaign Goal (TCG). In order to ensure that the important pastoral and charitable ministries and outreach of the BAA are maintained, the first funds collected in the Cathedral Campus Campaign will go to satisfy the Bishop’s Annual Appeal goal. In that way, the ongoing commitment to the BAA and all its ministries will not be hampered. Once a parish surpasses its 2012 BAA Goal, 20% of the net funds collected up to its TCG will return to the parish. Fifty percent of funds in excess of the TCG will also return to the parish. A separate BAA campaign will return in 2013. (Additional information can be found in the December issue of the NC Catholics.)

How can my parish benefit?

The Most Reverend Michael F. Burbidge met with Diocesan priests and pastoral administrators on October 14, 2011 to discuss the Cathedral Campus facilities project. Mr. Timothy Mann and Dr. Henry Zaytoun, Jr., Campaign Co-Chairs, and other members of the Campaign leadership provided information on how parishes and Diocesan faithful will be invited to participate in this historic initiative.

Campaign leadership explained that parishes will be invited to participate in the campaign in one of two calendar blocs; November, 2011-June, 2012 or July – December, 2012. Each parish will have a Total Campaign Goal that will include its portion of the Bishop’s Annual Appeal for 2012 and a portion for the Our Cathedral: One Faith, One People campaign.

• Once a parish surpasses its 2012 BAA Goal, 20% of the net funds collected up to its Total Campaign Goal will return to the parish.
• If a parish exceeds its Total Campaign Goal it will then receive 50% of funds raised above and beyond its Total Campaign Goal.

St. Mary Catholic Church in Wilmington is the first parish to lead the way in the Our Cathedral: One Faith, One People campaign, selecting the piggyback option for the campaign. This option allows the parish to combine local needs with the Cathedral Campus Facilities campaign elements into one campaign. St. Mary’s combined campaign addresses its needs ranging from facilities maintenance and improvement, debt reduction, endowments, and support for its sister parish in Honduras.

Additional information on the Cathedral Campus Facilities Campaign and how each parish can benefit is available in the November issue of the NCCatholics magazine and online at www.holynamecathedralnc.org or

www.dioceseofraleigh.org.

Announcing Holy Name of Jesus Cathedral

On September 7, the Most Reverend Michael F. Burbidge, Bishop of Raleigh, announced the planned construction of a new Cathedral Campus for the Catholic Diocese of Raleigh. This project will include the Holy Name of Jesus Cathedral, a gathering hall and parking facilities. The Cathedral and Campus Facilities will be built on a 39-acre tract of land in western Raleigh where the Diocesan Catholic Center administration building is today.

The property holds special historical significance for eastern North Carolina Catholics: In 1899, Father Thomas F. Price, the first native-born North Carolinian to be ordained a Catholic priest, purchased 400 acres of land known as the Nazareth Community with the purpose of spreading the Gospel and the teachings of the Catholic Church. It is on this property that Father Price established an orphanage, seminary and the Holy Name of Jesus Chapel. Since 1899 the property has served the needs of the people of eastern North Carolina. It is fitting that Holy Name of Jesus Cathedral continues that tradition.

Want to learn more: www.dioceseofraleigh.org or www.holynamecathedralnc.org