CHARLOTTE — Catholics in the Diocese of Charlotte will join in the worldwide effort to support missions in the United States and abroad in the Combined Mission Collection that will be taken up at Masses in all parishes the weekend of Jan. 19.
This annual collection funds five separate initiatives: the Collection for the Church in Latin America; the Collection to Aid the Church in Central and Eastern Europe; the Catholic Home Missions Appeal; the United States Mission Appeal (Black and Indian Missions); and the Solidarity Fund for the Church in Africa.
Here is how donations to the Combined Mission Collection make a difference:
- The Collection for the Church in Latin America funds formation programs for priests, religious, lay leaders, missionaries and pastoral workers, and supports the Church’s work with the poor in the poorest areas of Latin America.
- The Collection to Aid the Church in Central and Eastern Europe helps to rebuild the Church in those countries where communism once prohibited public acts of religion.
- The Catholic Home Missions Appeal provides funding for evangelization efforts in remote parishes throughout rural America.
- The United States Mission Appeal supports evangelization programs among African Americans and Native Americans in almost every diocese in our country.
- The Solidarity Fund for the Church in Africa supports the pastoral works of the Church through grants for projects like pastoral care for the sick, evangelization, youth ministry, religious education, and peace-building workshops.
In his letter to parishioners of the Diocese of Charlotte, Monsignor Mauricio West, vicar general and chancellor of the diocese, shares words from the Book of the Prophet Isaiah: “I will make you a light to the nations that my salvation may reach to the ends of the earth.” He says that these words “continue to speak to us in our day. We are all called to bring the Good News of salvation to the ends of the earth.
“The 2019 Combined Mission Collection, which will be taken at all Masses on the weekend of Jan. 19-20, gives each of us an opportunity to reach out and be light to the nations,” he adds.
Last year, parishioners in the diocese contributed $273,524 to the Combined Missions Collection.
— SueAnn Howell, senior reporter
Special collection dates for 2019
- Jan. 19-20: Combined Mission Collection. This annual collection funds five separate initiatives: the Collection for the Church in Latin America, the Collection to Aid the Church in Central and Eastern Europe, the Catholic Home Missions Appeal, the United States Mission Appeal (Black and Indian Missions), and the Solidarity Fund for the Church in Africa. (See above for details about this special collection.)
- April 20-April 21 (Easter Sunday): Seminarian Education Collection. The Seminarian Education Program, in which 36 men are currently enrolled, is primarily funded through the annual Diocesan Support Appeal, the Friend to Seminarians Program, and this second collection.
- May 18-19: International/National Combined Collection. Donations received from this collection benefit five organizations: Catholic Relief Services, Collection for the Holy Land, Collection for the Works of the Holy Father (Peter’s Pence), The Catholic University of America, and the Catholic Communications Campaign.
- Sept. 14-15: Priests’ Retirement and Benefits. This collection taken up the weekend after the Eucharistic Congress goes to support the Diocese of Charlotte’s 87 diocesan priests actively serving the faithful of western North Carolina, and 44 religious order priests from nine religious orders for whom retirement contributions will be made.
- Oct. 19-20: World Mission Sunday (Propagation of the Faith). This collection supports the work of the Church in its missions around the world.
- Nov. 9-10: Collection for the Archdiocese of Military Services. Currently, 285 Catholic military chaplains provide pastoral care to more than 1.5 million Catholics on ships, in combat, on bases and in 153 Veterans Affairs hospitals. The Collection for the Archdiocese of Military Services, taken up every three years, will fund its co-sponsored Seminarian Program, which identifies vocations within the military and is now educating 30 men for the priesthood and subsequent military chaplaincy.
- Nov. 23-24: Catholic Campaign for Human Development. This collection funds the Catholic Campaign for Human Development, established by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops to help break the cycle of poverty by funding organizations that help people help themselves. With its mission of improving education, housing situations and local economic development, the CCHD continues to make a positive impact in communities nationwide. Twenty-five percent of the funds from this collection are put to use in the Charlotte diocese.
- Dec. 7-8: Religious Retirement. This appeal, coordinated by the National Religious Retirement Office, offers support for senior Catholic sisters, brothers and religious order priests whose communities lack sufficient retirement funding. Nationally, some 33,000 women and men religious past the age of 70 benefit.
— SueAnn Howell, senior reporter
More online
At www.charlottediocese.org/development: Learn more about these special collections as well as other ways to financially support the various ministries of the Church in western North Carolina, including the Diocesan Support Appeal and the Foundation of the Diocese of Charlotte
Diocese among 373 school districts in U.S., Canada honored
CHARLOTTE — The Diocese of Charlotte Schools is one of 373 school districts in the U.S. and Canada honored by the College Board with placement on the ninth annual Advanced Placement District Honor Roll.
To be included, the 19 Charlotte diocesan schools had to, since 2016, increase the number of students participating in AP while also increasing or maintaining the percentage of students earning AP exam scores of 3 or higher. Reaching these goals demonstrates that the district has been successfully identifying motivated, academically prepared students who are ready for AP classes.
National data from 2018 show that among American Indian/Alaska Native, Black/African American, Hispanic/Latino, and Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander students with a high degree of readiness for AP classes, only about half are participating. The first step to getting more of these students to participate is to give them access. Courses must be made available, gatekeeping must stop, and doors must be equitably opened. The diocesan school district is committed to expanding the availability of AP courses among prepared and motivated students of all backgrounds.
“Success in Advanced Placement is a combination of students’ own motivation and the opportunities educators provide for them,” said Trevor Packer, senior vice president of AP and Instruction at the College Board. “I’m inspired by the teachers and administrators in this district who have worked to clear a path for more students of all backgrounds to earn college credit during high school.”
Helping more students learn at a higher level and earn higher AP scores is an objective of all members of the AP community, from AP teachers to district and school administrators to college professors. Many districts are experimenting with initiatives and strategies to see how they can expand access and improve student performance at the same time.
In 2018, more than 4,000 colleges and universities around the world received AP scores for college credit, advanced placement, or both, or consideration in the admissions process. Inclusion in the ninth annual AP District Honor Roll is based on a review of three years of AP data, from 2016 to 2018, looking across 38 AP exams, including world language and culture.
Districts must:
- Increase participation/access to AP by at least 4 percent in large districts, at least 6 percent in medium districts, and at least 11 percent in small districts;
- Increased or maintained the percentage of American Indian/Alaska Native, Black/African American, Hispanic/Latino, and Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander students taking exams and increased or maintained the percentage of American Indian/Alaska Native, Black/African American, Hispanic/Latino, and Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander students scoring 3 or higher on at least one AP exam; and
- Improve or maintain performance levels when comparing the 2018 percentage of students scoring a 3 or higher to the 2016 percentage, unless the district has already attained a performance level at which more than 70 percent of its AP students earn a 3 or higher.
When these outcomes have been achieved among an AP student population in which 30 percent or more are underrepresented minority students (American Indian/Alaska Native, Black/African American, Hispanic/Latino and Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander), or 30 percent or more are low-income students (students who qualify for free or reduced-price lunch), a symbol has been affixed to the district name to highlight this work.
— Catholic News Herald