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Catholic News Herald

Serving Christ and Connecting Catholics in Western North Carolina
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120718 FFHLCHARLOTTE — The Diocese of Charlotte’s unprecedented $65 million “Forward in Faith, Hope, and Love” campaign is beginning to bear fruit for parishes, diocesan ministries and schools as it enters its final phase.

The comprehensive effort aimed to provide new funding to parishes and ministries to use as they saw fit, as well as solidify the diocese’s future through endowments and major capital projects.

The campaign, which launched in 2013, surpassed its goal by garnering $70.11 million in pledges, with $49.76 million received in payments through Nov. 30. Pledges are projected to continue coming in through 2019 and 2020.

Proceeds from the campaign have already been put to work, and all 92 parishes and missions have received funds. Campaign distributions total $38.47 million so far, according to the diocese’s chief financial officer Bill Weldon – approximately $5.71 million in the past fiscal year alone. An additional $6.1 million is earmarked for distribution over the next few years. Of the total, $14.68 million has been set aside in seven new endowments.

“FFHL is having a significant impact on the work being done in parishes and in ministries across the diocese, and will impact the diocese for years to come,” said Jim Kelley, the diocese’s development director. “Funding for capital projects is being spent in the short run, but FFHL also provides support for the Church long into the future through endowments.”

“This extraordinary campaign will provide resources to better position the diocese by strengthening our parishes and the broader ministries that serve the people of our parishes,” said Bishop Peter Jugis as the diocese finished another year of parishioners making payments on their FFHL pledges. “I am humbled and extremely grateful for the generosity of so many people throughout our diocese in faithfully fulfilling their commitments to the FFHL campaign.”

In particular, five main areas of the FFHL campaign have received significant assistance so far: parish life and ministries, clergy support, Catholic education, Catholic outreach, and pastoral and temporal needs:

PARISH LIFE AND MINISTRIES

Campaign funds totaling $17.04 million have gone to parishes and missions so far, according to diocesan reports.

Some parishes have paid off long-standing building debts with their FFHL funds, while other parishes have funded smaller improvements such as new carpeting and lighting, Marian grottos, murals and technology upgrades.

Our Lady of the Rosary Church in Lexington used $46,520 of its FFHL campaign money on an extensive $70,000 church remodeling effort. Parishioners pitched in with their own labor, saving thousands of dollars.

Thanks in part to a $79,000 contribution from the FFHL campaign, St. James the Greater Church in Concord was able to refurbish an additional building on campus to make more space for its growing faith formation programs – all without having to shoulder a significant debt burden.

120718 FFHL Campus MinistrySt. Pius X Church in Greensboro combined its FFHL funds with a successful capital campaign to build the Simmons Parish Life Center for its growing ministries, as well as the 22,885-square-foot DeJoy Primary Education Center at St. Pius X School next door. The combined effort totaled $6.5 million.

CLERGY SUPPORT

When plans for the FFHL campaign were set in 2012, the diocese’s current and projected growth was of major concern, Kelley noted. The booming Catholic population would mean a need for more priests, more vocation promotion efforts and seminary education, more ongoing training, and more support for retired clergy.

Thanks to FFHL, the Priest Retirement Trust Fund has received $5.65 million to date to provide pensions to the diocese’s 24 current retired priests and prepare for the 27 more priests expected to reach retirement age over the next decade.

FFHL funds have added $1.7 million to the diocese’s Vocation and Seminary Support Endowment, which is helping to pay for seminary education for a growing number of men preparing for the priesthood. The number of seminarians has grown from 16 to 36 over the past few years, including 20 men studying at St. Joseph College Seminary.

CATHOLIC EDUCATION

FFHL funding is also going towards renovation projects at diocesan schools and at Campus Ministry locations, as well as tuition assistance and faith formation.

Nearly $2.3 million in FFHL money has been earmarked for diocesan schools’ capital improvement projects. Grants ranging from $10,000 to $500,000 will be distributed starting next year to schools for use on non-routine facility improvements. Applications for funding are due by Dec. 31.

The FFHL campaign has also poured funds into a new $3.39 million tuition assistance endowment for students in Catholic schools, enabling more families to afford a Catholic education for their children.

FFHL tuition assistance totaling $49,372 was given out for the first time to four diocesan schools last school year, and another $76,265 is being awarded to six schools for the 2018-’19 school year.

As the endowment grows, the diocese anticipates awarding approximately $200,000 each year, Weldon said.

When the first FFHL disbursement was made last school year, Dr. Janice Ritter, diocesan schools superintendent, noted that she was “deeply grateful that the diocesan administration realized the need for tuition assistance for our families and included a provision in the ‘Forward in Faith, Hope, and Love’ campaign for this endowment. I know our principals are also appreciative of this additional assistance which can be made available to families with financial need.”

FFHL funds totaling about $564,800 are also going into a new endowment for parishes’ youth and adult faith formation programs.

Thanks to $424,000 from the FFHL campaign, repairs and renovations at four Campus Ministry locations over the past two years were done, and another $565,000 has been added to an endowment for Campus Ministry.

At Appalachian State University in Boone and North Carolina A&T University in Greensboro, interior and exterior repairs and maintenance were done at the Campus Ministry buildings. The building was painted, new appliances were installed in the kitchen, and air conditioning units were added.

At the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, a building on the St. Thomas Aquinas Church campus adjacent to the university was renovated to create offices, a kitchen, dining area, gathering area and restrooms for Campus Ministry staff and students.

And at Western Carolina University in Cullowhee, the old Campus Ministry building saw an extensive $125,000 remodel of its chapel, kitchen, bathrooms and general improvements to the 2,400-square-foot facility.

CATHOLIC OUTREACH

FFHL money has also gone into new endowments for Catholic Charities Diocese of Charlotte and diocesan multicultural ministries, as well as housing initiatives for the elderly and disabled.

So far, Catholic Charities Diocese of Charlotte has received $3.39 million for its endowment, Multicultural Ministries has received $1.69 million in its endowment, and the housing initiatives fund totals $1.41 million.

PASTORAL AND TEMPORAL SUPPORT

The Catholic Conference Center in Hickory received $565,000 in FFHL funds to renovate the 35,000-square-foot facility in 2014.

That December, diocesan leaders celebrated the completed project with a blessing ceremony led by Bishop Peter Jugis. The celebration was held exactly 26 years to the day from when the Catholic Conference Center was originally blessed by then-Bishop John F. Donoghue.

Living Waters Retreat Center in Maggie Valley also received $101,000 for a much-needed remodel of the aging interior and a new roof.

Another $2.25 million in FFHL funds has been set aside to renovate and preserve the 79-year-old St. Patrick Cathedral.
Lastly, an endowment for parish support services provided by the diocese’s central administration – including human resources, legal help, and financial and stewardship education – now totals $3.39 million.
—SueAnn Howell, Senior reporter