It’s been a bumpy ride for the local Church in the last year, but even in a crisis, good ideas can spring up and grow.
Those initiatives are the focus this year of Project Advance, the Archdiocese of Vancouver’s annual appeal.
“The theme is about essentially building on the good of what came out of a difficult year,” annual giving coordinator Miro Bezjak told The B.C. Catholic.
The Project Advance appeal launches April 10 with the theme “Our Way Forward.”
The COVID-19 pandemic led to some dramatic changes in the way the archdiocese functioned, and now Bezjak is hoping to build on the momentum of its successes.
For example, in 2020 a new program called All Were Filled delivered 41,000 meals to families in need as a result of the pandemic.
The downtown drop-in centre The Door is Open served 107,000 meals to the poor and homeless.
Meanwhile, the archdiocese’s chaplaincy program sent visitors to sick, elderly, and isolated people in about 30 hospitals and residences, while Catholic schools and catechesis teachers adopted hybrid forms of teaching amid changing regulations for educational institutions.
All of these aspects of the archdiocese’s life and service rely in part on Project Advance.
“There’s an opportunity to grow and move forward in positive ways and build on what we had before,” said Bezjak. “We really want to turn the attention of our church in Vancouver to the new things that are emerging and that sometimes we don’t notice are happening.”
This year’s Project Advance goal is set at $2.5 million. Of that, $1.4 million is earmarked for a Catholic secondary schools construction fund and $850,000 for ministries of outreach and evangelization (including outreach to the needy, catechesis, marriage and family programs, and others, see breakdown below).
The remaining $250,000 of the goal is slated for special grants to Catholic organizations for various needs. Those organizations must submit applications and the list of recipients is expected to be finalized by this summer, said Bezjak.
Last year’s appeal goal was $1.625 million, a dramatic drop from the 2019 goal of $3.25 million, in recognition of the financial hardship some families would face during the pandemic.
As the pandemic wears on, for those able to give, donations can be made online.
Ministries and outreach funds:
Evangelization programs (including Alpha, Catechesis of the Good Shepherd, Discover Discipleship, PREP): $150,000
Youth and Young Adult Ministry (including parish training and support): $150,000
Hospital chaplaincy (pastoral ministry in health care facilities): $150,000
Family Life programs (marriage preparation, parenting, marriage enrichment programs): $100,000
Social justice (including anti-human trafficking, refugee settlement, migrant farm workers, The Door is Open): $150,000
Prison ministry (support for prisoners, former inmates, and families/victims impacted by crime): $100,000
Cultural ministry (ministry for Indigenous, Filipino, Chinese, and Hispanic peoples): $50,000
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