Forward with Faith Campaign for the Hartford Bishops’ Foundation
Saint Catherine of Siena Parish
Suggested speaking points for Rev. Michael Whyte

Introduction

This November will mark the 175th anniversary of the Archdiocese of Hartford. Where we are today as an Archdiocese, with more than half a million Catholics spanning across Hartford, Litchfield and New Haven counties, is the result of what has been passed down by generations of Catholics before us who have moved our Church forward through their faith and their commitment to our parishes, our schools, and our ministries. Now is a pivotal moment for our generation to do the same by thoughtfully preparing and investing in our future for the sake of our children and our children’s children.

In partnership with the Archdiocese of Hartford, we are now embarking on Forward with Faith, a landmark campaign, and the first ever in our 175-year history, being led by the Hartford Bishops’ Foundation, through which every parish will be asked to participate.

This effort should not be mistaken for the Archbishop’s Annual Appeal, which is used to maintain the day-to-day operations of the Archdiocese. The mission of this campaign is to create funding sources to address long-term and extraordinary needs so that our parishes, schools, faith formation programs, and social service ministries have the strength and stability to serve future generations of Catholics.

This campaign is not only, or even principally, about the Archdiocese. 50% of funds collected through each local parish campaign will be remain with the parish. This is an incredible opportunity for us to both help our Archdiocese prepare for the future while taking care of our own needs right here at Saint Catherine of Si-ena Parish.

Saint Catherine of Siena is one of the 11 pilot parishes that will lead the way for this historic effort by conducting our cam-paign now and over the next few months to address the needs of the Archdiocese as well as those within our parish community.

I cannot do this without each one of you, and our parish’s success will depend on all of us coming together in this effort.

• A group of parishioners have formed a committee to assist me with this project. I am grateful for their leadership and dedication on behalf of our parish. They have already been making great efforts thus far, and I am confident that, with eve-ryone’s prayers and support, we will be successful in surpassing our goal. If you hear from one of these volunteers, please meet with them, kindly listen to their presentation, and prayerfully consider supporting this vital undertaking, as it will be a great benefit to our Church.
• Over the next few months, all of you will be hearing more about the campaign as we seek to invite everyone to participate in this extraordinary effort.
• I will be happy to meet with anyone or answer any questions you may have over the coming weeks.
• Please join me in praying for our success throughout the Forward with Faith campaign. Thank you all and may God bless you.