The Catholic Sharing Appeal (CSA) is a wonderful success story. It is the story about the Church here in Northwest Florida and the Big Bend, a story in which each and every one of us has a part to play. It is a local story of how the people of God have built this Church up to where it is now.
The Catholic Sharing Appeal was instituted when the Diocese of Pensacola-Tallahassee was formed in 1975. Established without many reserves of its own, the diocese and parishes relied upon this vital funding source to carry on essential operations to survive as a local Church. Today, CSA continues to be used to allocate funds at the diocesan level for expenses that extend past the parish for regional responsibilities, while parishes retain funds received in excess of the goal for capital projects and programs within their parish.
By giving funds through CSA, the people of God assist their bishop and pastor in carrying out the three-fold mission of the Church: teaching, serving and worshipping. Since the accomplishment of the Church’s mission is of foremost importance, CSA affords parishioners a special opportunity to fulfill their baptismal call to discipleship.
CSA specifically funds programs, services and functions that are coordinated from the Pastoral Center and are extensions of the Office of Bishop. The administrative divisions of the Church of Pensacola-Tallahassee include the Bishop, Vicar General, and Chancellor, as well as Secretariats for Communications, Financial Administration, Special Ministries, Social Concerns, Education and Apostolates. Some of these ministries attend to needs beyond the scope of individual parishes and some exist for the sole purpose of assisting parishes in their mission to teach, evangelize and provide good liturgical experiences.
CSA sets aside a time that offers us an opportunity to renew (rededicate) ourselves to stewardship through involvement in our parish and diocesan communities. Annually, CSA provides time for parishes to ask parishioners to make a pledge which helps meet the needs of the broader Church community.
We remind everyone that it is requirement to participate in this to be considered a bona fide Parishioner. After we meet out goal of $38,000, every cent comes back to us!
