Home Missions

“Strengthening the Church at Home" is the theme for the Catholic Home Missions Appeal which is scheduled nationally for this weekend. It is our second collection today. When it comes to these special collections, parishioners often ask, “What is this? And how will this money be used?”

The Catholic Home Missions Appeal was established by the Bishops in 1997 as a way for Catholics in more prosperous communities like ours to assist our fellow Catholics in places where the Church struggles just to keep parishes open. There are many more such communities in this country than people realize.

Ninety U.S. dioceses (out of 195) rely on this appeal to assist with the basic work of the Church: youth ministry, training lay ministers, educating seminarians, training deacons, religious education, working with growing populations of minority Catholics, evangelization, and migrant ministry.

Some Catholics who think they don't know what a "home mission" is might be surprised to learn they have traveled through one. Anyone who has ever visited eastern Kentucky or Tennessee, driven through rural Georgia, Alabama and Mississippi, or spent time on the Mexican border has been in mission territory. The little brick or clapboard or adobe churches seen along the way are representative of the home missions. The Appeal also benefits Catholic communities in American territories like Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands.

The Archdiocese of Anchorage has 19 active priests to serve the towns and villages of central Alaska; our neighboring Diocese of Lubbock has 34 priests to cover 62 parishes and missions. There are only 70 priests in the State of Utah, 57 in Idaho, and 45 in Wyoming.

This year, Catholic Home Missions Appeal turns its focus to youth ministry, an essential component of the life and vibrancy of the Church. In youth ministry programs, young Catholics grow in faith and gain valuable leadership skills. We take for granted the wonderful Youth Ministry opportunities we have here at Risen Savior, thanks to your support. But without this appeal, poorer dioceses in the United States cannot sustain vital youth programs.

As we continue to recover from the economic downturn, it is important to remember our Catholic brothers and sisters in the United States whose dioceses are financially fragile even in the best of times. They rely on financial assistance from the Catholic Home Missions Appeal to strengthen the Church at home.