Annually an appeal is made to the people of the Diocese for financial support for diocesan projects not covered by donations to parish collections. We call this annual appeal the Pilgrimage of Faith. Please, watch our Campaign video created in 2021 to hear how your contributions go to work in our diocese.
Our 2022 Pilgrimage of Faith campaign was very successful. Thank you.
Here is our 2023 campaign progress to-date:
| Diocese Goal | Parish Goal | Total | Funds Raised | Funds Returning to Parish | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| St. Ann’s | $46,650 | $25,000 | $71,650 | $38,230 | $0 |
| St. John Vianney | $18,550 | $20,000 | $38,550 | $39,010 | $20,460 |
Diocese
Nelson Diocese is situated in one of the most beautiful places on earth. Will it be an overstatement to say that we actually live in the best place on earth – Beautiful British Columbia? When I travel round our diocese, I see how much God has blessed us. In gratitude to Him, together as a diocesan family, we continue the work of God through our Pilgrimage of Faith. Pilgrimage of faith as the name suggests is much more than money: it is our journey of faith together by which we use the gift God has given us to advance His Kingdom. From the East Kootenays to the West Kootenays, from the South to the North Okanagan, the work of God continues. For God and with God, we have accomplished so much in these areas:
- Catholic Education for our young ones.
- Catechism
- Adult Faith Formation
- Retired Priests: helping them to retire with dignity and with a smile
- Youth Ministry
- Training and formation of Seminarians
- Evangelization
- Teachers and Catechists: training and spiritual formation
- First Nations Ministry
- Seton House of Prayer: a place of renewal and our spiritual power house etc.
Each parish is given a fundraising goal by the Diocese. The funds raised are used for the programs mentioned above. Any funds raised in excess of the Diocesan goal for each parish are returned to the parish to be used for local priorities.
For more details, including how to donate, visit our Pilgrimage of Faith page in the Living our Faith | Giving to Our Parish section of the website.
Parishes – “Bonding and Building”
St. Ann
- Youth
- Elderly
- School
- Home for the Ukrainian families
- Security gates, camera, lighting
Our Parish Goal & Ukrainian families – Housing
This year, our parish goal is to help our two Ukrainian families – to help them with housing. There is some work needed to be done in the house owned by the parish at 200 Bennett to make it suitable for them. Riccardo, our maintenance person, has started already but we need to conclude before the end of April. Presently, the two moms and their four kids are sharing two rooms. With joy. But we want to set up the building the parish owns in such a way that the children and their moms can have a better living space. With your donation, we are able to shelter them. Jesus said: “I was homeless and you gave me shelter… As long as you did it to the least of my brothers and sisters, you did it to me.
Security: Church, School, Garage, Rectory, Parking Lot
We have witnessed some vandalism in our property last year and a lot of homeless people lodging in the different stairways in our Church. During the winter, they have even made fires to warm themselves up. I’m afraid that if this continues, we will wake up one morning to realize that our Church has been burnt down. They leave needles and drugs all around and shopping carts litter everywhere. And this happens most times in the weekends. Sometimes, I spend Sunday morning cleaning to make it safe for our people who come to worship. Thanks to Riccardo, Melinda and Carla who help me from time to time. One morning as I was cleaning, I saw a book left by one of them titled: ‘The 10x – The Only Difference Between Success and Failure.’ They, too, want to succeed in life. Whatever happened to them, we ask God to heal them. I usually would offer water, food, groceries and goodies to them and direct them to a place they can go. While we show compassion, love and care, we need to save our buildings. Sometimes, they come and sleep in front of the Rectory and getting out in the morning can be challenging. Sometimes they go over to the school. It is really not safe. We can’t have needles and drugs in our compound. These endanger the lives of our people especially the school children and elderly.
What are we going to do to remedy this:
- We plan to install gates to close off the stairways
- Improve the lighting all around the Church and in the parking lot
- Install security cameras. The government will pay half of the cost for installing the cameras and improving the lighting.
Finally, we bring you good news: our youth ministry is really going well. And with your prayers and generosity, the good work in our youth ministry will continue.
We appeal to you to help us to achieve our parish goal this year: to save our Church from being burned down and to give shelter to the Ukrainian families fleeing the war.
St. John Vianney
Many years ago, our parish was built through the sacrifice of many. Because of their sacrifice and generosity, inspired by their love of God and neighbour, we are able to have a place of worship.
We have been able to carry forward the good work they have begun. We have continued to build on the foundation they laid for us.
In 2020, we embarked on a mission. To revitalize our Church. To bring new life. To bond. To build. To evangelize. Together, we have accomplished a lot. A new baptismal font. New floor. New Hall. In fact, it looks like we have a new Church and a new hall. But more importantly is the community we are building. We sense a great togetherness and joy. Well done!
This year, we are turning our gaze towards the exterior of our church: continuing from last year. The work has these elements: safety, parking, landscaping & beautifying.
- Safety: As you will recall, our POF projects from last year were delayed primarily because of the early winter weather. However, we are now all set to start on April 9th.The phases of the work are as follows:
a) Removal and replacement of the concrete front entrance to the church including the railings.
b) Removal and replacement of the concrete walkway from the city sidewalk into the main entrance to the hall.
c) Removal and replacement of the sidewalk adjacent to the sacristy to the back alley.
d) The removal and replacement of the exterior front windows and doors of the church.
The work is expected to take approx. one month with a cost in the $28-30,000 range. Because the work will entail some construction noise, weekday Masses from April 11th to the end of the month will be moved to St Ann’s. Sunday Masses will continue to be celebrated here at St John’s, but entranceways will be restricted during the construction. - More Parking spots: The good news is that we have more people coming to Mass now. The bad news is that we do not have enough parking spots. We have met with Discovery house and we plan to carve out more parking spots for our people. This will give everyone peace of mind to know you have a place to park your car when you arrive at Mass. This new plan will ensure that Marcel who comes to Mass so early will have a prime parking spot J This is still in the works. We are working with the city to figure out how to maximize our parking options.
- Landscaping & Beautifying: planting flowers and making the Church surroundings more beautiful.
We will ensure signage is prominent when the work begins.