Archbishop Tobin praises Miter Society members, archdiocese for embracing the message that stewardship is ‘a way of life’

Andra Leipa of St. Monica Parish in Indianapolis, left, and her parents, Vija and Leons Leipa of St. Malachy Parish in Brownsburg, kneel during a Mass for Miter Society members at SS. Peter and Paul Cathedral in Indianapolis on May 7. (Photo by Natalie Hoefer)

By Natalie Hoefer

During a gathering of Miter Society members on May 7, archdiocesan director of stewardship and development Jolinda Moore looked around at roughly one quarter of the archdiocese’s Miter Society members.

While they are Catholics who donated $1,500 or more to the annual United Catholic Appeal: Christ Our Hope (UCA) effort, Moore knows many of the members are far from wealthy in terms of money.

“I look out at these people, and I know some of their circumstances,” she said. “There are priests, deacons, parents of young children, retired people on fixed incomes. Many of these folks are everyday people who aren’t abundantly wealthy financially, but they are rich in generosity and gratitude, and have a strong desire to help the Church and its ministries to evangelize, celebrate the sacraments and exercise charity throughout central and southern Indiana.”

In recognition of the support of the Miter Society members, a Mass was celebrated on May 7 at SS. Peter and Paul Cathedral in Indianapolis with Archbishop Joseph W. Tobin as the principal celebrant, followed by a reception at the Archbishop Edward T. O’Meara Catholic Center. Approximately 250 of the 1,021 Miter Society members throughout central and southern Indiana attended the Mass and gathering.

In total, Miter Society members contributed $2.64 million of the more than $6 million received in last year’s annual appeal. That figure comprises 43 percent of last year’s UCA total.

“We also saw a significant increase in the total number of people who contributed to the United Catholic Appeal,” the archbishop reported to those attending the reception, noting that the total number of donors to the UCA increased 22 percent during the past year, growing from 15,722 to 19,240 donors.

“I believe this is evidence that more people in the archdiocese are embracing stewardship as a way of life,” he said.

“I’ve tried to keep the stewardship message simple: What I do with what I have when I believe in God. The message must be getting out.”

The message is not lost on Miter Society members Vija and Leons Leipa, members of St. Malachy Parish in Brownsburg. As immigrants from a formerly communistic country, they know the importance of the existence of the Church.

“We had a year under communism in Latvia [before moving to the U.S.], and they suppressed religion,” Vija recalled of life before her and Leons’ families immigrated separately to the United States when the two were pre-teens about 65 years ago, shortly after Latvia was forcibly annexed by the Soviet Union.

Leons said they knew people who stayed in Latvia “for 50 years with a shortage of priests, a shortage of seminarians. The Church almost shut down. It makes us appreciate our faith more.”

And for that reason, the couple—along with their daughter Andra Leipa of St. Monica Parish in Indianapolis, who is also a Miter Society member—appreciates the opportunity that the appeal provides to help the greater Church in central and southern Indiana.

And it’s not just Catholics that benefit, said Marilyn Falkenburg of funds donated to the United Catholic Appeal.

“I give because [the funds] don’t just help the Catholic Church, but the whole community in so many ways,” said the member of St. Mary-of-the-Knobs Parish in Floyd County, who is also a trustee for the archdiocese’s Catholic Community Foundation. “It helps with the outreach into the community, helping people that may not even be Catholic. We take care of everybody.”

The Church also values educating its children, a fact important to Colleen and Rocky Patrick even though they don’t have children.

One of the reasons they contribute to the appeal is “because it’s important to us that, even though we don’t have children, the Catholic faith be carried on through generations so the Church can continue to grow, especially in this part of the country,” said Rocky, who is a member of St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross Parish in Bright, along with his wife.

Bob Beyke, a member of St. Monica Parish, is also receiving an education made possible with the help of United Catholic Appeal funds. He is a deacon candidate participating in the archdiocese’s deacon formation program. He is scheduled to be ordained a permanent deacon in 2017.

While he and his wife, Beth, designated part of last year’s donation for deacon formation, “We’ve been [Miter Society] members even before I entered deacon formation,” said Bob. “To give to the United Catholic Appeal is to give to the larger Church, just like giving to Peter’s Pence helps the international Church.”

Besides, said Beth, “What we have isn’t mine. What we have is all gift.”

When Father Joseph Feltz, pastor of St. Malachy Parish, donated to the appeal at the Miter Society level, he left the designation blank.

“I very much believe in the shared ministries that [the appeal] supports,” he said. “I think all of [the archdiocesan ministries] are part of our life as Catholic Christians—they’re all equally important.”

When asked why he, as a priest, donated to the appeal, his answer was simple.

“As a member of the body of Christ, I pitch in as well, just as I ask my parishioners to pitch in,” he said. “I feel very strongly about it.”

Archbishop Tobin concluded the evening asking those in attendance to pray for the continued success of the United Catholic Appeal and all the ministries it supports.

“I am so encouraged by your great generosity, your humble and grateful response to God who loved you first.

“I’m so grateful to be the archbishop of Indianapolis.”
 

(For more information on the “United Catholic Appeal: Christ Our Hope” and the Miter Society, or to contribute to the appeal, log on to www.archindy.org/ChristOurHope. For questions, contact Jolinda Moore, director of annual major giving, at 317-236-1462 or 800-382-9836, ext. 1462.) †