The annual Catholic Services Appeal — now in its 39th year — supports a variety of ministries and services offered by the Archdiocese of Louisville in the areas of spiritual, educational and human needs.

A glimpse at the range of these programs and the hundreds of people served by them was given by Dr. Brian Reynolds, archdiocesan chancellor and chief administrative officer, at a recent meeting of pastors on the 2007 Catholic Services Appeal, which gets underway this month.

Reynolds noted, for example, that during the past year:

• About 5,200 hours of counseling were provided to people in centers in the archdiocese, and pastoral care teams visited about 1,200 patients in hospitals.
• More than 3,500 students in grades five, eight and 11 took the Kentucky catechetical assessment on faith formation, and 191 lay ministers completed specialization formation in areas such as liturgy, administration and discipleship in the Archdiocese of Louisville Ministry Institute.
• More than 500 new members in the church were welcomed at the Rite of Election, and 100 new team members were trained in parishes to lead the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults (RCIA).
• About 3,000 nursing home residents were served by the long-term care ombudsman program.
• The Sister Visitor Center responded to more than 34,000 requests for assistance, including clothing and help in paying for medicine and utilities.

Reynolds also noted new initiatives in promoting vocations to the priesthood and religious life, including visits to more than 3,000 students in 22 schools. And he mentioned the development of a curriculum for use in Catholic schools and resources to use in parishes in connection with the archdiocese’s bicentennial celebration next year.

“This is what the annual appeal is about, supporting these kinds of efforts,” Reynolds said.

Nick Eve, director of the archdiocesan Office of Stewardship and Development, said the Catholic Services Appeal is an “opportunity to let people know that the work of the church goes on outside the boundaries of the parish.”

And “as Catholics, as disciples, as stewards, we are called to support that work,” Eve added.

The goal for the 2007 Catholic Services Appeal is $3.3 million, which is $200,000 more than last year. The campaign’s theme is “Answer the Call: Catch the Spirit.”

Contributions to the 2006 campaign were $3,185,522, which Eve said was the second largest amount in the history of the appeal, which began in 1968.

Eve noted that 97-1/2 cents of every dollar contributed went to fund ministries and services, and 2-1/2 cents went to fund campaign expenses, mainly printing and postage.

More than 20,200 households in the archdiocese made gifts or pledges to the 2006 Catholic Services Appeal, Eve said, and individual gifts ranged from $1 to $50,000.

The youngest contributor, he said, was a 7-year-old girl in the second grade who gave $1 after hearing a talk about the appeal in church. She made her gift in envelopes made available in the “in-pew effort,” which has become part of the appeal.

All Catholic households in the archdiocese will receive a letter from Archbishop Joseph E. Kurtz with an invitation to contribute to the Catholic Services Appeal.

In addition, Eve said, parishes are being asked again to conduct an “in-pew effort” at weekend Masses Oct. 13 and 14. This effort involves distribution of envelopes for people to make a gift or a pledge to the appeal. Pledges allow donors to spread out their gifts over a period of months.

The in-pew process was begun in the 2005 campaign, and it has caught on, Eve said. He noted that in 2005 about $185,000 was given in the “in-pew effort,” and last year that jumped to $326,000 — about 10 percent of the total campaign gifts.

Last year, in-pew contributions ranged from $1 to a pledge of $2,000, Eve said. He added that one parish received contributions of about $18,500, and another church took in $10,315 over two weekends in the in-pew process.

Gifts to the Catholic Services Appeal can be made in different ways: cash or check; gifts of stock; credit card (MasterCard, Visa or Discover Card); electronic transfer from a checking or savings account; on-line gifts through the archdiocesan Web site at www.archlou.org and employer matching gifts for qualifying company programs.

Also again this year, Eve said parishes are asked to use Oct. 6 and 7 as Catholic Services Appeal “Awareness Weekend” with talks at Masses on ministries and services provided by the appeal.

“The real success of the appeal rests in educating parishioners about the work of the archdiocese, ... telling the story of how the church serves thousands of people,” Eve said. “We are all called to be disciples. This is really what the Catholic Services Appeal is about, an opportunity to carry on the work of Christ.”

The appeal, he added, is “an opportunity for all of us in the archdiocese to work together in solidarity for the common good.”