Catholic Diocese Tucson

CATHOLIC OUTLOOK 11 JANUARY 2020 Parish pastoral reports provide critical information to diocesan leaders when considering a range of is- sues, from new construction to parish services. Each parish completes the reports which provide the Chancellor’s office with important numeric and statistical information from each parish. Parishes with schools also provide information such as the number of students enrolled in the school and the number of teachers. “The data collected by this report, along with the new October (Mass) count information, will provide us with the statistical overview we need for planning and for informing Bishop (Edward J.) Weisenburger of the most current parish activities and ministry,” said Chancellor Anne Morales in a Sept. 6, 2019, memo to pastors, administrators, parish staff and par- ish pastoral report preparers. The request for parish reports occurred at the same time that staff from the Official Catholic Directory, a national compilation of information from dioceses, religious organizations and communities, published for more than a century by PJ Kenedy and Sons, sent a similar request to parishes for its 2020 edition. Morales is responsible for reviewing both sets of information. She set deadlines of Nov. 4 for reports to be submitted electronically to her office. The Catholic Directory report, for the Diocese, is several pages long. The parish pastoral report runs about 25 pages. The information submitted on each form serves different but equally critical ends. The Catholic Direc- tory most notably becomes an official snapshot of the Diocese from 2019. It is also a catalogue used by the Internal Revenue Service to determine which organi- zations can be granted a tax exemption permitted by the federal tax code. The pastoral reports provide key data that informs the bishop and diocesan directors on myriad issues. For instance, if a parish’s population continues to trend upward, it helps Property & Insurance Director John Shaheen reach out to parish leadership to deter- Annual Pastoral reports provide local snapshots Diocese joins Flocknote communications The latest diocesan commu- nications tool would fit Pope Francis’ theology of accompani- ment with leaders “taking on the smell of the sheep” except its iconic sheep – Uno – doesn’t smell at all. Flocknote, a text messaging, marketing and email tool, was founded in 2009 by Catholic entrepreneur Matthew Varner. The program and companion application uemploy email and text messaging to stay in contact with Catholics and other sup- porters of the church through- out the Diocese. While Bishop Edward J. Weisenburger for- mally signed a contract on Oct. 1, diocesan leaders stepped up use of the system near the end of 2019. Some Catholics in the Diocese already are familiar with Flocknote because their parishes use it to commu- nicate with parishioners. In many cases, the parish supple- ments bulletin and pulpit announcements by sending out brief email or text mes- sages to heighten awareness for upcoming events, or to remind people of liturgical seasons and special Masses or services. The Flocknote website claims to have contacts for more than 151,000 church leaders nationally. Parishes here using Flocknote include St. Mark’s in Oro Valley, St. Martin de Porres in Sahuarita and St. Thomas the Apostle in Tucson. When St. Mark’s pastor, Father John Arnold, was named Moderator of the Curia, he proposed use of the tool on a diocesanwide scale, to provide Bishop Weisenburger with a tool to communicate with Catholics and other supporters directly. Following discussion among senior staff, the bishop agreed. Under Father Arnold’s supervision, email lists were provided by parishes currently using Flocknote, and other organizations that support the ministries in the Diocese, in- cluding the Catholic Founda- tion and the Catholic Tuition Scholarship Organization. Initial emails were sent out to inform recipients of the new tool, and request permission to email or text future messages. Recipients were given the op- tion to opt out and can opt out or unsubscribe at any time. So why is it called Flock- note and why is a sheep a logo for the company? Warner explained it this way in a website entry: “Uno (the lamb) is the Flock- note mascot. After a long and somewhat rocky run in the ro- deo circuit, he found himself a bit lost. But he’s now been found (Lk 15:4-7). So we put him to work … well mostly he just eats hay, ambles around and follows stuff – mostly Je- sus. But he keeps us focused. “Uno is that one, lost sheep (you know, the one from Luke 15…that we’re supposed to leave the 99 to go after?). Uno is all around us in the poor and the lonely. In the unloved and the hopeless. In our homes and pews. In the mirror. “Uno is why we, at Flock- note, are on a passionate mis- sion to build a more connected Church. It’s why we’ve creat- ed the simplest, most powerful tool to connect with, listen to, engage and grow your flock.” Under Father Arnold’s supervision, email lists were provided by parishes currently using Flocknote, and other organizations that support the ministries in the Diocese, including the Catholic Foundation and the Catholic Tuition Scholarship Organization. Two Catholic entities received awards for Na- tional Philanthropy Day at an annual luncheon Nov. 15 in Tucson. Students at Salpointe Catholic High School won the Outstanding Youths in Philanthropy award and Catholic Foundation Board member Sergio Cardona received one of 43 2019 Spirit of Philanthropy awards from Southern Arizona Chapter of the Association of Fund- raising Professionals. The Outstanding Youths in Philanthropy honor is one of six major awards recogniz- ing “individuals and organizations whose philanthropic contribu- tions and dedicated volunteerism improve the quality of life in our community,” ac- cording to the associa- tion’s website afpsoaz. org/2019-national-phi- lanthropy-day/. An article on the Salpointe website said that students performed more than 42,000 hours of charitable works dur- ing the 2018-19 school year. Cardona, who has served on the Foundation board since 2017, serves as president of the Salpointe, Cardona receive philanthropy awards Sergio Cardona The Catholic Directory most notably becomes an official snapshot of the Diocese from 2019. It is also a catalogue used by the Internal Revenue Service to determine which organizations can be granted a tax exemption permitted by the federal tax code. See AWARDS on page 16 See REPORTS on page 16