Diocese launches $12M campaign
Builds on legacy of those who came before for those yet to come

By Renée St. Martin Wizeman

Last weekend marked the kick-off of the Diocese of Helena’s $12-million capital campaign. from Age to Age is the first capital campaign of this magnitude to be conducted in the diocese.
The campaign comes after several years of pastoral planning carried out by the Diocesan Pastoral Council. Following listening sessions and the input of 1,400 people throughout the diocese, the pastoral plan Come to the Light was crafted. The plan identified major needs in the diocese, and how those needs might be addressed.
Come to the Light also noted the need for a diocesan capital campaign to be conducted “…as soon as possible following the release of the Pastoral Plan.” The plan was released in June 2007, and the capital campaign feasibility study began in October 2007. Guidance in Giving, Inc. conducted the feasibility study and is conducting the capital campaign, in coordination with the diocesan Development Services and the Foundation for the Diocese of Helena.
The 95 parishes and missions of the diocese are divided into three blocks for the capital campaign. Those parishes and missions in Block I each have a campaign committee, as will the parishes and missions in Blocks II and III. Guidance in Giving assists the pastors, pastoral administrators and parish committees as the campaign moves forward in each block. The campaign will continue through 2008. Gifts to the campaign are payable over a 5-year period.
There are five main elements to the $12 million campaign, all identified in the pastoral plan Come to the Light: youth and young adult faith formation support, care of senior status priests, priestly formation and development, Guatemala Mission support, and parish and mission support.

Youth Ministry and Young Adult Faith Formation Support
$4,300,000
This $4,300,000 will support, among other things, professional training and development of deanery and parish youth ministers, grants for rural parishes, regional efforts for Youth Ministry and Young Adult Formation grants, diocesan staff support, campus ministry on the college and university campuses in the diocese, Legendary Lodge programming and technology. A portion of this money will be endowed to ensure future support for vital ministries within our diocese.

Care of Our Senior Status Priests
$2,000,000
Twenty-eight priests are currently on senior status (retirement). Many of them continue in parish and hospital ministry, either full-time or providing assistance where needed.
These monies would increase the principal of the Clergy Senior Status and Security Trust to better meet the basic needs of senior status priests and provide assistance to those whose expenses cannot be covered through the Trust – such as nursing home and other specialized care.

Priestly Formation and Development
$1,000,000
Those preparing for ordination are supported by the diocese. The education these men will need, as well as basic support for those in major seminary (stipend, travel, and medical insurance) required more than $250,000 in the 2007-2008 fiscal year. The additional $1,000,000 would be added to the current Priestly Formation and Development endowment for the ongoing funding for seminarian education and priests’ ongoing education.

Guatemala Mission Support
$1,000,000
The Diocese of Helena has maintained a mission presence in Guatemala since 1964. This mission has a medical clinic that serves over 20,000 people each year and also supports a school for 600 students, including boarding for 100 girls and nearby housing for 40 boys. This campaign will provide an additional $1,000,000 for the Guatemala Mission Endowment that will help ensure a more consistent and sustainable financial future for the ministry in Guatemala.

Diocesan Parishes and Missions
$2,000,000
Increased funding is central and sometimes crucial for many parishes to fulfill and continue the Church’s mission for their faith community. Each parish will have a financial target that will include their portion of the Diocesan Offertory Program for 2008.
Once a parish surpasses its 2008 DOP target, 20 percent of the net funds collected up to its campaign target will return to the parish.
If a parish exceeds their campaign target they will then receive 80 percent of funds raised above and beyond their overall parish target.
This parish funding may be used any way the parish deems appropriate through the planning of the parish leadership and will not be subject to assessment from the diocese. Parish planning follows the usual diocesan guidelines, processes and authorizations.

More information about from Age to Age will be featured in coming issues of The Montana Catholic and on the diocesan website at www.diocesehelena.org.

Published in The Montana Catholic, Vol. 24, No. 4, April 18, 2008.