In appeal to your charity, I'm broadcasting this rare call to action to all our communicants, clients, associates and supporters of
Saint Anthony's Bread Mission Apostolate. This is an urgent plea to anyone who is a client of our patron and intercessor,
Saint Anthony of Padua.
And since our
Third Anniversary of 9-11 is soon approaching, it's also a viable suggestion to those of our uniformed NYPD and FDNY officers -- especially our associate local members of
G.O.A.L. and
FireFLAG partnered in solidarity with their united comrades, the
Golden State Peace Officers Association and
G.O.A.L. New England -- who would like another way to tangible memorialize their fallen brethren with a personal marker. This is also an ideal idea for anyone who lost a partner or other loved one to AIDS and who rests in Christ without a grave stone. (It's also the perfect way to say "THANK YOU" to Saint Anthony for finding your lost object.)
Most of you are aware that within my three decades of ministry I have NEVER solicited funds, reminded you to tithe or organized any kind of fund raising or beg-a-thons. That's because your free will offerings were sufficient for our meager mission needs and God has always provided for us.
“God is able to provide you with every blessing in abundance, so that you may always have enough of everything in abundance for every good work.” (2 COR. 9:8.) It's also because I'm aware that most of you are barely subsisting yourselves. (And many of you never needed to be asked of your generosity anyway.) ....So your SABMA clergy associates have been supplementing our basic ministerial needs out of their own pockets here in our local Tri-State area -- while also helping you with yours. That is par for course with most ORC clergy throughout the country. Just like you,
“I have learned, in whatever state I am, to be content. I know how to be abused, and I know how to abound; in any and all circumstances I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and want.” (PHIL. 4:11-12.)
But now I'm asking you for a "widow's mite" to be thrown over the Hudson River. Please offer what you can -- anything.
You are asked to buy a stone -- one little stone. Together they will build a community project. “Come to Him, a living stone… and, like living stones, let yourselves be built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.” (I PETER 2:4-5.)
I'm asking you to support a fledgling charity which is serving a parallel ministry similar to ours. But it's not for us here in NYC. One of our brother mission parishes in my former ATCC Diocese of The Most Holy Name of Jesus is in desperate need of funds. Time is of the essence as they try to meet a looming deadline...
Our Lord commanded this of us also: “You shall open your hand, and lend him sufficient for his need, whatever it may be... You shall give to him freely, and your heart shall not be grudging when you give to him; because for this the Lord, your God, will bless you in all your work and in all that you undertake.” (DT 15:8 & 10.)
The
American Traditional Catholic Church has been conducting a
“Buy-A-Brick” campaign. Proceeds will assist the ATCC in establishing the
St. Anthony of Padua Family Service Center in Cincinnati, Ohio. Your donation will aid them in acquiring facilities and resources there to provide essential services to the needful of Southwest Ohio, Northern Kentucky and Southeast Indiana.
This Center will enable the marginalized and socio-economically disadvantaged people of those regions to receive services from multiple providers within one central location and empower the desperate to help themselves. Other programs at the Center will feed the hungry by providing an onsite as well as a mobile nutrition program. Additional
ATCC outreach programs will target disadvantaged youth at risk due to abuse, neglect and violence, the elderly, families, single parents and specialized programs.
Now about those stones... They are bricks, actually.
To help pay for the completion and opening of the Center,
I am asking you to buy a brick! You can create your own message or choose from selected designs for your brick(s). These specially engraved, decorative bricks will be used to create donor/memorial walls in the center which will be open for visitation by the public. One could also commemorate any special occasion or joyful event for posterity. The bricks are engraved using state of the art laser technology (Vitralase® Engraved Brick -- with your own personalized message.
*) This will insure maximum strength and durability for many years to come. Bricks are available in various sizes and combinations of sizes.
[* The unique procedure for engraved bricks is called the Vitralase® process. The laser is used to create a process called vitrification. The Vitralase® process eliminates the fading, cost, and maintenance problems obtained with the paint, epoxy or grout-filled methods and produces a far longer lasting brick, as opposed to sandblasting and pantograph engraving procedures. (See Engraving Info) ]
Also, you can purchase a miniature replica of the original. This mini brick can be used as a paperweight, given to a loved one or friend as a remembrance, or just as an every day reminder! If you purchase a brick for a friend or loved one then they will mail the replica to them for you - including a gift card.
And here's a
BONUS: Anyone purchasing an 8"x8" engraved brick between August 1 - July 31, 2005 (during the next year) will receive the replica mini brick for FREE.
Bishop Michael Stephen, OCD, the director wrote:
"In the life of a child...a family...a senior adult...the world... If you can spare $1, $5, $10 or more...no donation is too small and every donation will make a difference. Not only in assisting St. Anthony of Padua Center and the International Center of Greater Cincinnati acquire facilities from which to serve...but in providing many needed services to many people who struggle with many things in their daily lives. You...not a non-profit agency, not a public or private welfare program...not a church...YOU can make a difference. Even a commitment to pray for and with us to do the work God asks us to do is a "donation"...it is a gift of love, a gift of your time and a gift of your remembrance of us to God."
Those making a donation will - unless otherwise requested - have their name placed on the Center's
"Giving Tree" mural which will be prominently placed at the Center to acknowledge all those who have made a donation. Their names will be placed on an inscribed leaf which will then be added to the Tree and individually blessed in the donor's name by the clergy. This "Giving Tree" symbolizes people’s willingness to provide help, hope and happiness to others. Trees have always stood as symbols of life. Fittingly, the new
“Giving Tree” will take root in the lobby of
St. Anthony of Padua Family Service Center and will also be symbolic of your solidarity and cooperation with them. Your willingness to invest in the lives of others is the spirit of the Giving Tree. Your donation will become a permanent symbol of your compassion. Let it become another expression of your gratitude for the
life-GIVING TREE of
Christ's Cross.
"Beloved, gaze in thine own heart.
The holy tree is growing there;
from joy the holy branches start,
and all the trembling flowers they bear."
-- (William Butler Yeats)
By assisting them with your small donation, limited funds that are currently used to cover overhead expenses (mortgage, utilities, general operating expenses, etc.) can be channeled into serving their local community through the St. Anthony of Padua Family Service Center and the
International Center of Greater Cincinnati. (The Center, under the auspices of the ATCC, is a non-profit organization 501(c)(3) as defined by the IRS.)
Their community projects might sink like stones without your help. Be assured that your donation is fully tax deductible. Donations can offered via check, debit/ATM card and major credit cards and can also be made securely online through PayPal or Click-and-Pledge. Links for both are located on their “
Buy-A-Brick” webpage.
After this post is archived and disappears from immediate sight, please refer others to our ad (at the bottom of the right column) which will run for the duration of this funds-raising campaign.
I would remind you that our
Christian Rainbow Flag (also within the right side column) first and foremost symbolizes God's Covenant with His People
(Genesis 9:17.) Therefore, I urge you to practice your missionary covenant relationship with this TORC covenant community.
“Do good unto all men, but especially to those who are of the household of faith!” (GAL. 6:10.) In so doing, remember that this projected “House of God” will be just as much “our house” and Center in the sense that the New Testament term “house” often signifies “family” (cf. LUKE 19:5-9; ACTS 10:2; I COR. 16, etc.) Hence, Saint Anthony’s here & St. Anthony's there are both His Family & yours, that is
“The Church of the Living God” (I TM. 3:15; ACTS 3:6; PT. 4:17.) This is why we are such a vibrant covenant family alive in Christ who serve any and all without regard to any differences or similarities!
Please practice these truths today by continuing to show your love and your pride for our communal family. We SABMA associates believe in the Augustinian principle that before you go out into the world to spread love, you start with loving your own! And as Norman Marceswan often said: "We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give."
-- Fr. Steve +
