By Patrick Downes
Hawaii Catholic Herald
Ohana in Christ, the Diocese of Honolulu’s parish-based fundraising campaign, entered its final month of its first year at 75% of goal, according to Mark Clark, the diocesan director of stewardship and development.
As of May 31, the diocese had received $845,000 of its $1.125 million target. The campaign ends June 30.
The campaign replaced the Bishop’s Circle, which collected primarily from individuals, to one that gave each of Hawaii’s 66 parishes an assigned goal of 25% of its annual “assessment” — the “tax” it pays yearly to the diocese to help cover diocesan operations.
Twenty-two parishes have already met their goals, said Clark, whose office is coordinating the campaign. The most recent are Our Lady Queen of Angels, Kula; St. Rita, Haiku; St. Roch, Kahuku; St. Theresa, Kekaha; and St. Theresa, Kihei.
Bishop Larry Silva introduced Ohana in Christ to previous donors to the Bishop’s Circle last September and in all Hawaii churches the first weekend in October.
While the Bishop’s Circle targeted a select diocese-wide group of donors, Ohana in Christ is an appeal to all Hawaii parishioners. Ohana is the Hawaiian word for family.
The last Bishop’s Circle appeal, 2020-2021, collected $385,000 from 731 donors.
Using letters, posters, brochures and videos, the campaign asked each parish to raise awareness of the wider church mission and services and to raise funds to sustain them.
The collection supports priests, seminarians, deacon formation, youth and young adult ministry, and services to the poor.
“When you give to the Ohana in Christ appeal, your gift not only assists the diocesan mission, you also help support your parishes, pastors, schools, service agencies and communities,” Bishop Silva said when introducing the campaign last year.
“Your generous contribution is indeed needed to strengthen vital programs as ‘fellow citizens’ striving to make a difference in our islands by our witness to Jesus,” he said.
Ohana in Christ borrows the same six “donor societies” the Bishop’s Circle had used to identify the amount of the gift. They range from the Catholic Ohana Society for donations of $625 to $1,249, to the Stewards of the Gospel Society for contributions $20,000 or more.
Those joining a donor society will be invited to a special gathering and be recognized in the Hawaii Catholic Herald.
Non-society donors are asked to consider a gift of $365 — a dollar a day.
In a letter Bishop Silva sent in May to priests, he urged those shy of their goal to make a final push through a parish collection or by urging individuals to contribute.
“I am most grateful to all of you, and especially to those who were able to meet their 2021-22 goals!” he said.
He said he planned to “gradually strengthen” the appeal in year two, which begins on July 1, by making the amount due a mandatory 50% of each parish goal.
“Of course, we encourage all to strive for at least 100% of the goal,” he said, “so that the works of the wider church, to which all parishes belong, may be supported.”
“If a particular parish carefully discerns that even 50% of the goal would be too burdensome,” he said, a pastor may ask for an exemption.
There are three ways to make a gift
- By credit or debit card online at catholichawaii.org or by contacting the gifts office at (808) 372-3472
- By check payable and mailed to: Ohana in Christ, P.O. Box 380019, Honolulu HI 96838-0019
- Via your parish special collection
