Hope Appeal 2024 effort officially begins this weekend
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Above: Bishop Douglas J. Lucia greets guests at the Vicariate 1 Hope Appeal Kickoff.
By Dc. Tom Cuskey
The letters are in the mail as the diocesan-wide 2024 campaign for the Hope Appeal gets underway this weekend in parishes across the diocese. This takes place amidst the seven scheduled vicariate gatherings where pastors, parish staff and invited parishioners celebrate the effort and the ministries served by the annual campaign. Bishop Douglas J. Lucia and Hope Appeal executive director Beth Hoey attend each of the meetings, sharing a message of gratitude and, of course, hope.
Vicariate 1 representatives, covering Northern Onondaga and Oswego County parishes, got together at Pope John Paul XXIII Parish in Liverpool last week.
Kathy Przytula is the business manager at Pope John and its linked sister parish, Christ the King in Liverpool’s Bayberry neighborhood. In addition to the Hope Appeal helping parishes fill in budgetary gaps they face through the parish-sharing aspect of the fundraiser, Przytula sees the bigger picture of the effort as well.
“It’s just that you’re touching more people than you can possibly imagine,” she told us, “and not just what you’re giving to your parish. If you’re giving to the Hope Appeal, you’re touching all these extra people, people that you will never interact with, but who will feel it.”
Kelly Merrill, a current volunteer and former trustee of St. Margaret’s Parish in Mattydale appreciates the support of faith formation efforts through the Appeal.
“We’re trying to rebuild the faith formation program, and the Hope Appeal is critical for that,” she said. “And you know the [homebound] Mass ministry on TV? We have a lot of elderly parishioners that rely on that, and the number’s growing.”
She added that “it doesn’t matter how much [one gives], but it does go a long way, and we benefit from it.”
Odette Ferguson works in the offices of Christ our Light Parish in Pulaski and St. Ann, Mother of Mary in Mexico. She offered a very excited testimonial for the fund drive.
“Catholic Charities is helping people that I don’t even realize,” she said. “To help our diocese is incredible, with this Hope Appeal. It’s an incredible thing.”
You can view the 2024 Hope Appeal video and make a gift here: https://syracusediocese.org/hopeappeal
