Catholic Sharing Appeal
The Catholic Sharing Appeal (CSA) is a wonderful success story. It is the story about the Church here in Northwest Florida and the Big Bend, a story in which each and every one of us has a part to play. It is a local story of how the people of God have built this Church up to where it is now. The 2010 CSA will be unique to all those that have preceded it.
The Catholic Sharing Appeal was instituted when the Diocese of Pensacola-Tallahassee was formed in 1975. Established without many reserves of its own, the diocese and parishes relied upon this vital funding source to carry on essential operations to survive as a local Church. Today, CSA continues to be used to allocate funds at the diocesan level for expenses that extend past the parish for regional responsibilities, while parishes retain funds received in excess of goal for capital projects and programs within their parish.
By giving funds through CSA, the People of God assist their Bishop and Pastor in carrying out the threefold mission of the Church: teaching, serving and worshipping. Since accomplishment of the Church's Mission is of foremost importance, CSA affords parishioners a special opportunity to fulfill their baptismal call to discipleship.
CSA specifically funds programs, services and functions that are coordinated from the Pastoral Center and are extensions of the Office of Bishop. The administrative divisions of the Church of Pensacola-Tallahassee include the Bishop, Vicar General, Chancellor, as well as Secretariats for Communications, Financial Administration, Special Ministries, Social Concerns, Education and Apostolates. Some of these ministries attend to needs beyond the scope of individual parishes and some exist for the sole purpose of assisting parishes in their mission to teach, evangelize and provide good liturgical experiences.
CSA sets aside a time which offers us an opportunity to renew (rededicate) ourselves to stewardship through involvement in our parish and diocesan communities. Annually, CSA provides time for parishes to ask parishioners to make a pledge which helps meet the needs of the broader Church community.
The 2010 CSA will have a particularly unique importance for the people of the Diocese of Pensacola-Tallahassee. Bishop Ricard intends to use this year’s appeal as a rallying point for one of his primary goals for 2010 ~ to foster a deeper sense of spiritual commitment amongst his flock. The traditional CSA brochure has been transformed into a prayer card. Bishop Ricard has extended an invitation to all parishioners and families to spend a few minutes each day in prayer together. His hope is that we will use the morning and evening prayers every day as a special time for reflection, and an opportunity to act as a cohesive faith family.
Many Catholics grew up saying prayers as a family before bedtime. It is Bishop Ricard’s hope that we will be able to rejuvenate the practice in our homes each morning and evening. The prayers only take a minute or two, but this small opportunity for reflection will provide a sense of calm in hectic, and currently challenging times. We hope 2010 will see a more prayer centered Church devoted to mission and ministry.
Click here to see the brochure highlighting this year’s CSA program.