Faith, gratitude — “keys” to latest CSA success

We’ve been blessed in so many ways. We need to give what we can. And if we can this year, we should give a little more.”

Laquetta Ewigman

I was raised with the understanding that everything you get comes from God, so you give of your time your talent, your treasure, to the Church, to God.”

Chris Ledbetter

Bishop grateful for successful Catholic Stewardship Appeal

The following is a letter from Bishop W. Shawn McKnight to mark the successful conclusion of the 2017-18 Catholic Steward-ship Appeal for the Jefferson City diocese:

My sisters and brothers in Christ:

Once again, the faithful of the Diocese of Jefferson City exceeded the goal for our annual Catholic Stewardship Appeal (CSA). I offer my heartfelt thanks to our kind donors, our pastors and their teams, and the diocesan staff who coordinated the CSA under the leadership of Bishop Gaydos.

As your new bishop, I am relieved that we will have the resources to provide needed pastoral services to our parishes and communities. I am also very pleased to learn that I have inherited a local church where many have chosen to live a life of gratitude in response to a generous God.

On my coat of arms, I have the motto Gratias Agamus Domino, “Let Us Give Thanks to God.” I hope I will always call others to appreciate the endless gifts of a Prodigal Father and his Suffering Son who have given us everything from first breath to eternal life. The “us,” includes me, and I hope that it will hold me accountable to live the life of gratitude I preach.

I grew up learning that gratitude is an attitude of the heart. It finds its source in the depth of our relationship with God. As that relationship grows, it effects the way we see God, our neighbors, and ourselves. Eventually we realize that we our-selves are gifts to be returned to God through our care for one another.

I believe that most who gave to the CSA are living that life of gratitude and they see their contributions to support their Church as giving back to God. They probably feel good about this because studies have shown that grateful people are happy people.

Unfortunately, these donors represent less than 25 percent of our households. I hope that we can help others discover the sustaining generosity of God in their lives and come to realize the sense of joy and purpose that comes with a life of grati-tude.

Once again, I want to thank you for your grateful support of the CSA. I can do no better than leave you with the words of St. Paul to the Colossians: “And whatever you do, in word or in deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.”

With prayerful best wishes and kind regards, I am

Sincerely yours in Christ,

Most Rev. W. Shawn McKnight, S.T.D.

Bishop of Jefferson City

Bishop W. Shawn McKnight’s episcopal motto, “Gratias Agamus Domino” — “Let us give thanks to the Lord” — applies to all seasons and circumstances.

But with the successful completion of this year’s Catholic Stewardship Appeal (CSA), the Jefferson City diocese’s new bishop is feeling particularly grateful to God and to the people here.

“I am very pleased to learn that I have inherited a local Church where many have chosen to live a life of gratitude in response to a generous God,” Bishop McKnight wrote in a letter (see left margin on this page) accompanying highlights of the recently concluded CSA (see attached graphic).

Offerings from the people of the diocese, made up of 110 parishes and missions in 38 counties, surpassed the CSA goal of $2.04 million.

The total as of March 16 was $2,131,388, with contributions still being received.

As of that date, 40 parishes and missions — about 36 percent — had reached or exceeded their CSA parish goal.

Ninety-five parishes — 86 percent — had reached 75 percent of their CSA goal or higher.

All of the money will be used to provide essential services in the upcoming fiscal year to parishes and the diocese at large. Among these are vocation work, formation for permanent deacons, guidance and oversight for Catholic schools, communications, and ministry to growing communities of Hispanic Catholics here.

Gifts and pledges came in all sizes, averaging $334.80.

The CSA participation rate among the diocese’s 27,587 registered Catholic households was 23.08 percent.

Parishes with over 40 percent of their registered households giving to the CSA as of March 16 included: Most Pure Heart of Mary in Chamois, Mary Queen of Peace in Clarksville, St. Stephen in Indian Creek, Notre Dame in LaGrange, St. Jude Thaddeus in Mokane, Assumption in Morrison, St. Anthony of Padua in Rosati, St. Joseph in Slater, and Holy Family in Sweet Springs.

St. John the Evangelist parish in Bahner led the pack with 58.06 percent CSA participation.

“I hope we can help others discover the sustaining generosity of God in their lives and come to realize the sense of joy and purpose that comes with a life of gratitude,” Bishop McKnight wrote.

Family business

The 2017 CSA started at the end of Bishop Emeritus John R. Gaydos’ 20-year episcopacy and officially concluded three weeks into Bishop McKnight’s.

The theme was “One faith. One family.”

“Discipleship is communal and familial,” Bishop Emeritus Gaydos wrote to the people the diocese last October. “We are Catholic to the extent of our concern for one another and for the world around us. Our connectedness in Christ defines us and identifies us as His followers.”

A parish named for the Holy Family took that message to heart, exceeding its CSA goal by about 25 percent.

Gene E. and Chris Ledbetter are among the many reliable givers in Holy Family in Hannibal who helped make that happen.

“I was raised with the understanding that everything you get comes from God,” Mrs. Ledbetter stated, “so you give of your time your talent, your treasure, to the Church, to God.”

Her mother helped instill that in her, insisting that contributions to the Church should be made at the beginning of the month, rather than at the end.

“The Church has so many ministries, local and throughout the world,” Mrs. Ledbetter said, “and I feel very strongly that we have to give our monetary support for those things to happen.”

A lifelong Hannibal parishioner, Mrs. Ledbetter has been giving thanks to God in song since she was in fifth grade.

Her teacher, Sister Sheila Marie, knew she had been taking organ lessons for two years. One day, the sister came to young Chris’ pew at an all-school Mass and told her she would be accompanying the congregation that day.

“The organ was right in front of church,” Mrs. Ledbetter recalled. “I think I started out right-handed and with both hands shaking.”

Playing every school day thereafter, she got better and more confident.

Eventually, Monsignor Joseph T. Bugler, now deceased, invited her to help out at Sunday Masses.

“God gave me the talent and this is the best way I know to give it back to Him,” she said.

She still puts her heart and soul into playing the keyboard. “When I play, I’m praying,” she said.

Since shortly after Father Michael Quinn arrived at Holy Family almost 20 years ago, Mrs. Ledbetter has been accompanying three Masses each weekend.

She accompanied school Masses for about 10 years and is gradually working back into that role.

Her husband, Gene, was raised Protestant. He became Catholic, receiving his First Holy Communion the same day as their son.

The Ledbetter children grew up seeing their parents active around church.

“It takes a whole community, the whole body of the Church, to build it up and make it better,” Mrs. Ledbetter noted.

Putting God first

As has been the case for many years, the three deaneries whose parish goals made up the largest percentage of the total goal for the diocese were the Columbia, Jefferson City and Sedalia/Lake deaneries — containing 15, 10 and 16 parishes, respectively.

Together, the parishes in those three deaneries averaged over 93 percent of their goals and contributed about 74 percent of this year’s total.

Those three deaneries include the population center of the diocese and the largest concentration of Catholics, and comprises 61% of all the registered households in the diocese.

But steady, sacrificial giving finds serious expression in places throughout the local Church.

“We’ve been blessed in so many ways,” said Laquetta Ewigman of St. Bonaventure parish in Marceline. “We need to give what we can. And if we can this year, we should give a little more.”

She and her husband Glenn have been through a lot together, and they appreciate that God is always there for them.

Mr. Ewigman often tells his children that they’ve got to put God first.

“Sometimes I giggle when he says that,” said Mrs. Ewigman, “but I think they’re getting the message.”

Around Christmastime, Father Jerry Kaimann, pastor of the Marceline and Brookfield parishes, asked Mrs. Ewigman to share a few words with her fellow parishioners before Mass about year-end giving.

The parish was running behind on its expenses and its CSA goal.

“I think sometimes, it helps just having somebody besides the priest get up and say, ‘You know people, we have to do this,’” said Mrs. Ewigman.

Fr. Kaimann gave her some information to work with. He started by dividing among all the registered households what seemed like a large number, making the total seem “doable” if everyone pitches in.

“And if you break that gift down by 12 months, it’s even more doable,” Mrs. Ewigman noted.

It worked. The parish closed out the calendar year in better financial shape and well on its way to meeting its CSA goal.

Mrs. Ewigman grew up near a Catholic church in Beattie, Kansas; went to St. Mary of the Plains College in Dodge City; moved to Sedalia after graduation and taught at Sacred Heart School in Sedalia for 24 years.

Since relocating to Marceline about a decade ago, she’s forged some of her most durable friendships among fellow St. Bonaventure parishioners.

At the same time, while teaching at a public school, she’s gotten to know some children whose parents have never taken them to church or even talked to them about Jesus.

“For someone who grew up in a Catholic family right across from church, who only spent time in Catholic schools, that has been a very eye-opening experience for me,” she said.

But being forced out of what she called her “Catholic bubble” has helped her rely on God all the more fully.

God’s response has brought deeper gratitude to the Ewigman family.

“So much of what we have done has really been prayer,” said Mrs. Ewigman. “Between the two of us, we know we would not be where were are, and our children would not be who they are and where they are.”