SECOND LETTER OF ST. PAUL TO THE CORINTHIANS 9:11-12

This week begins our Annual Catholic Appeal campaign, so I’m deviating from following the Sunday readings, and I’m going to write about Paul’s Collection for Jerusalem. There had been an earlier collection by Antioch to support the impoverished community in Jerusalem, and Paul is asking his own churches in Greece and Macedonia to support the original Jerusalem church “as their means allow.”

The Annual Catholic Appeal is not meant primarily to relieve poverty. That’s the December campaign which benefits Catholic Community Services.

The ACA is, however, meant to bring some equality to all members of the Church in Western Washington. Each faith community has a goal set primarily according to its Sunday collections. In other words, according to its means.

The services it provides to parishes, however, are given according to their needs.

I think of the services of the Archdiocese as being of two sorts: there are those which no single parish could undertake. This is mainly the recruitment and training of priests, including their medical care and retirement.

There are also ministries which no parish can undertake, such as the hospital and jail ministries,  the training of catechists, and the Catholic Youth Organization

But I would also like to talk about the administrative support services that the archdiocese provides. These services are generally invisible to the folks in the pews, but are essential expertise for keeping parishes running smoothly. These include facilities and personnel management, insurance for liability as well as staff health insurance, and the Safe Environment program to protect children and vulnerable adults.

In short, the AD services parishes with professional expertise, collective buying power, and central ministries. The ACA provides over one-third of the financial resources to make this work possible.

You can support the work of the Church of Western Washington by clicking on this link: Annual Catholic Appeal.

During this Covid-19 crisis, we can best love each other by honoring the Governor’s “Stay Home / Stay Healthy” order. In Washington, doctors’ and dentists’ offices are joining stores, state parks, golf courses and other businesses as we begin to reopen. This is not a good time to relax, however! In Washington, 67% of confirmed cases are of people under 60 but 91% of deaths are of people 60 or older. Respect the social distancing rules until we defeat this disease!