Dear Parishioners, the theme of the Diocesan support appeal is "to serve is love," which calls us to help others with charity and kindness and to live by the teachings of our Catholic faith. Inspired by Philippians 2:5–9, we are called to follow Christ's example of humbly regarding others as more important than ourselves and to serve one another with love and compassion. The total goal for the 2023 DSA is 6,526,380, which represents an increase of 159,178, or 2.5%, over 2022. For the prior calendar year, through December 2022, weekly average parish offertories were up 6.0% in total versus the prior year. The 2023 DSA target for our parish was calculated using the parish offertory for the last calendar year, reduced by 25% of school subsidy payments.
The past support you have given to the DSA is gratifying. I ask for your continued assistance as we make every effort to meet the ever-increasing needs of diocesan agencies and ministries that indeed change lives every day. I ask you to personally pledge your support for this appeal because I am confident that together we can look beyond the needs of our individual parish and reach our DSA goal. Again, please accept my sincere thanks for all you do to serve the people of God in our parish community. May God continue to bless you throughout this new year. Sincerely, Fr. John.