Partners in Faith: Parish Rebates

Partners in Faith funds enable parishes to make needed capital improvements

WAYNE  When Partners in Faith, the diocesan capital and endowment campaign kicked-off almost two years ago at Immaculate Heart of Mary (IHM) Church here, Father Dan Kelly, pastor, considered it an invitation to stewardship to help strengthen the mission of the Church and the parish family.

“People were extremely responsive (to the campaign),” he said. “They understood there was a need and they were very generous and kind to whatever means they could give.”

With pledges to Partners in Faith surpassing the target goal, parishes across the diocese recently received their second rebate installment to address their individual needs.

Each parish was assigned a financial target as part of the overall campaign goal. Twenty-five percent of the amount pledged and received up to the parish target was to be returned to the parish. Sixty percent of all cash received over the parish goal was also returned to the parish. [For a full list of individual parish rebates, see list below.]

Parish rebates will continue to be disbursed annually as pledges are fulfilled over the course of the redemption period.

For many of the faithful, funds that would benefit their home parish was an important case element in the campaign. With a minimum of $10 million projected to help parishes, each parish formulated a case statement to address the special and individual needs on where donations will be used at their parish.

At IHM, its parish church was built in 1960 and with the rebates, the parish has been able to complete two major projects — a new roof on the parish/school media center and the installation of a new air-conditioning system in the church building.

Father Kelly said, “Like so many churches in the diocese, the buildings are getting old and things will naturally break down. While it is important we serve the people through our ministries, maintaining our buildings is just as important. We could have the best ministries in the world but with no place to meet if we don’t respond to our capital needs.”

As the faithful fulfill their pledges, the next capital improvement project at IHM is to repair the roof of the parish gym, which is a multi-purpose space used for the school, not only as its gym but also as its lunchroom and auditorium. For the parish, the gym is also used as a gathering space for meetings and celebrations and for Masses during Christmas, Holy Week and Easter.

For Assumption Parish in Morristown, last year’s rebate addressed immediate needs to repair portions of the church and address safety concerns at the rectory and church. This year’s rebate was partially used to repair and repave the church parking lots and make repairs to its ministry center. This spring, repairs to the church gutters will begin.

Msgr. John Hart, pastor of Assumption Parish, said, “Because of Assumption parishioners unwavering generosity, God’s mission on Earth continues. The Partners in Faith campaign supports the historic effort to repair and maintain Assumption’s beautiful parish buildings.”

In Haskell, the parishioners of St. Francis Parish are also seeing many repairs made on its campus. Roof repairs have already been completed to the parish’s church, former school building and the rectory. Also, the parish replaced interior stair treads in the church and reinforced support beams for breezeway between church and rectory.

Other projects at St. Francis, which will soon be completed, include replacing gutters on the church, school and rectory; repairing the chimneys of the church and school; replacing the brick wall at the library in the school; and repairing and modernizing rectory bathrooms and bedrooms. Projects that will begin later include replacing the cracking brick face of the school building and paving the parking lots.

Father David Pickens, pastor, said, “Thank you, thank you, thank you to all who continue to fulfill Partners in Faith pledges. Our contributions to the Partners in Faith campaign help us with our major maintenance projects.”