70. +Increasing Generosity: A Parish Campaign Success Story
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In early 2020, Changing Our World began partnering with St. Joseph the Worker Catholic Church in East Patchogue, NY on a parish-wide capital campaign in support of improving the accessibility of the church hall and performing capital improvements. On today’s podcast, Shawn Trahan and Joe Jennings from Changing Our World join Jim Friend to discuss the very successful campaign and how the parish adapted to this crisis.
Description
Parish leadership and volunteers were all eager for the church to improve parish facilities, which had been a topic of discussion for many years. The onset of the COVID-19 virus nationwide made it necessary to shift plans for outreach to parishioners, which began to be conducted virtually over the phone and computer video; these were followed by a direct mail appeal, and in-pew solicitations once in-person Mass was reinstated. These creative approaches made it possible to share the details of the projects and invite all families to join the effort, and to raise more than $100,000 in a few weeks. Even better- as of August 2020, St. Joseph the Worker Catholic Church has surpassed 107% of its $300,000 challenge goal!
With enthusiasm and excitement of the parish’s recent success, Father Martin Curtin stated, “These are extraordinary times. Our parish waited for 18 years to attempt to make our place handicap accessible. Changing Our World said they could help us address our immediate needs, but it seemed to be a stretch, considering we had just gone through a change in parish leadership, then had to shut down our church due to the health pandemic. Yet, when we relaunched our campaign efforts, our parishioners could not have been more generous, and we exceeded our goal! The Holy Spirit confounds our expectations, and we give thanks that it moves in St. Joseph the Worker.”
For more information about parish campaigns, please visit our website at www.changingourworld.com or listen to one of our other podcasts about “Preparing for a Parish Campaign“.
Questions or ideas for the show? Please contact Jim Friend.