SUNDAY, JANUARY 6, 2019 THE CATHOLIC POST
SECOND FRONT PAGE 3
This page is sponsored by Father Robert G. Schladen of Cuba, Illinois
BY TOM DERMODY
OF THE CATHOLIC POST
MOLINE - Together is better for three Catholic institutions here that are uniting on a $5 million capital campaign that enters its public phase Jan. 12-13 after nearly a year of study and preparation. Christ the King Parish, Sacred Heart Parish, and Seton Catholic School - all of Moline - are collaborating in the Today Tomorrow Together campaign aimed at keeping all three institutions strong into the decades ahead. If we all pull together we can do great things, said Father Mark DeSutter, pas- tor of Sacred Heart. And were off to a very good start. Details of the campaigns purpose and goals, and updates on early successes in its silent phase, will be announced at Masses at Sacred Heart and Christ the King next weekend. Campaign leaders will speak, a video will be shown, and there will be opportunities for questions at receptions following the Masses. The Seton Catholic School community, meanwhile, will make the campaign a point of emphasis during Catholic Schools Week at the end of this month.
PROJECTS TO BE FUNDED
Among the projects to be funded by the Today Tomorrow Together campaign are: At Sacred Heart Church, a century- old Moline landmark at 1307 17th Ave., tuckpointing of its exterior, repair of its historic stained-glass windows, and the building of a new, handicapped-accessible entrance and gathering space. In addi- tion, the heating, ventilation, and air con- ditioning system in the Lee Parish Center will be replaced. At Seton Catholic - which serves Sa- cred Heart, Christ the King, and St. Mary parishes in Moline as well as St. Maria Goretti Parish in Coal Valley - tuckpoint- ing the elementary building, upgrading the overall security system of the campus, and the purchase of computers for the elementary and middle school. At Christ the King, which opened in 1967 at 3209 60th St. and has grown to serve 1,400 families, replacement of the church and rectory roofs, repair of the church parking lot, and replacement of the worn geothermal pumps for air units. A campaign website established at catholictogether.com lists further details as well as a campaign prayer. The site, which will post the video on Jan. 14, also names individual institution goals as follows: $3 million for the improvements at Sacred Heart, $875,000 for Seton Catholic, and $1.2 million for Christ the King.
3 in Moline to launch joint capital campaign
MONTHS IN THE PLANNING
We are a welcoming, thriving parish, but the passage of time has impacted our facilities, said Father DeSutter, who rec- ognized the need for improvements after arriving as pastor in 2014. He explained that it was the needs of the shared school that brought area pas- tors into discussions about the possibility of a rare, joint campaign. The rationale was that were all re- sponsible for the school, and each institu- tion has capital needs as well, he told The Catholic Post. Working with the The Steier Group, an Omaha-based fundraising support firm, the parishes conducted a feasibility study last spring. Father DeSutter said the study revealed high support for the proposed projects and plans for a joint campaign were endorsed by diocesan officials. For various reasons, the timing was not right at St. Mary or St. Maria Goretti parishes, but the other three institutions began organizing leadership teams with dozens of individuals and couples volunteering to serve on committees.
OUR FACILITIES NEED ATTENTION"
Parish and school leaders are excited about the campaigns arrival. The teachers and staff have worked very hard over the years to maintain our facilities, keep the curriculum current and update our classroom resources, said Jane Barrett, principal of Seton Catholic. We are now faced with pressing needs that require immediate attention. Our doors are open wide to a rich diversity of people who hunger to grow deeper in their faith and discover their giftedness, but our facilities need atten- tion, said Father Donald Levitt, pastor of Christ the King. Father DeSutter said that preserving Sa- cred Hearts historic, impressive stained- glass windows has received great support in the campaigns early stages. We love those windows, he said. Sponsorship op- portunities are being offered for individ- ual window repair, and half are already sponsored with no public push. This is the logo for the joint capital cam- paign, which enters its public phase on the weekend of Jan. 12-13. A website with further details has been established at catholictogether.com. This issue of The Catholic Post, as- sembled around holiday breaks for staff, is a little light on world and national news but filled with reflective reading as 2019 begins, including Bishop Jenkys latest Festival Letter, Fear of the Lord. We are hitting the ground running in the new year, already preparing a special section on Catholic Schools Week to be published in our next issue and gearing up for the newspapers an- nual Delivering Unity Campaign to be launched Feb. 3. With you, we look forward to what the Holy Spirit has in store for our local and worldwide church in 2019.
Post-holiday Post
Previous Page