The annual Archbishop’s Catholic Appeal (ACA) is the primary source of funding for many offices, parishes, and ministries from the Archdiocese of Denver. It benefits and provides services to not only the Archdiocese of Denver, but our community as a whole.
Thanks to the generous support from donors to the ACA, ministries such as the Office of Evangelization and Family Life Ministries are able to stay active, especially during these times of crisis, and keep serving our community.
One of the missions of the Office of Evangelization and Family Life Ministries is to bring young people into an encounter with Jesus in real and powerful ways. Hence, the office provides a wide range of events, training, and support through youth ministries and resources for parishes and parents, that wouldn’t be possible without the contributions from the ACA.
“The contributions to the ACA play an important role in all the ministries of the Archdiocese of Denver, as it allows us to continue our mission to evangelize through formation, programs and companionship, and support parishes, ministries and movements from the diocese,” said Alejandra Bravo, Associate Director of Hispanic Evangelization.
Bravo also emphasized that even though, for now, they haven’t been able to meet in person with groups and movements due to the coronavirus pandemic, they continue to work from home to reach out to youths and young adults during these difficult times.
“We continue to provide our services through videoconferences, calls, messages, and virtual projects. But this continuous support is only possible thanks to the ACA. No matter how big a contribution is, it makes a difference,” she added.
Large youth conferences such as Steubenville of the Rockies, which serves over 2,500 high school students, National Catholic Youth Conference with over 20,000 young attendees every year, the Tutus Tuus program, Mountain Madness (with over 1,000 middle school students a year), and many more are carried out thanks to the annual appeal.
“We were also able to develop and publish a first of its kind sacrament preparation curriculum for the Restored Order of the Sacraments of Initiation. This curriculum, which is both free to parishes digitally and available in print for purchase is used by over half of the parishes in the Archdiocese and is also used in several other dioceses across the country,” said Scott Elmer, Executive Director of Evangelization and Family Life Ministries.
Elmer also highlighted how critical the ACA is when it comes to offering annual scholarships to train facilitators of Natural Family Planning.
“We are blessed to have four methods of NFP available to the faithful and facilitators who offer classes in English, Spanish and Vietnamese” Elmer said. “While training is incredibly valuable, it is also very expensive, and the ACA helps tremendously to make the training affordable to the people who wish to serve in this area.”
The Office of Catholic Schools helps form students as disciples of Christ, in such a way that academics are not separate from spirituality.
One of the largest ministries supported by the contributions of the ACA is the Office of Catholic Schools. The Office of Catholic Schools provides vision, direction, and supervision to 37 Archdiocesan Catholic school communities in order to assist them in the achievement of their mission to proclaim Christ and form authentic disciples.
“We are aiming to help all of our schools align all practices towards discipleship, such that academics are not separate from spirituality, not is a student’s formation bound to going to Mass, rather, that what students study point them to the truth of God’s work in history, the human story in responding to God and each other in literature, the truths of the ordered universe in math and science, and beauty in art and music,” said Abriana Chilelli, Director of Curriculum & Instruction for the Office of Catholic Schools.
Due to the coronavirus spread and the statewide orders to close schools and stay home, the Office of Catholic Schools had to adapt to a new reality and put into effect an emergency distance learning plan in a short period of time.
“We trust God invited all of us to this moment in time to draw ever closer to Him, to continue to assist parents in the formation of their children, and to become holy through offering Him our individual and collective best efforts in this adapted work,” Chilelli said.
The Office of Catholic Schools has worked hard behind the scenes to ensure each school is equipped to offer a distance learning experience toward the student’s formation of the mind, body, soul and emotions.
“Our distance learning opportunities aim to form students in truth, such that all children in our schools continue to grow in the intellectual, moral, and spiritual habits needed to be faithful and virtuous disciples of Jesus Christ,” Chilelli concluded.
Donations to the annual Archbishop’s Catholic Appeal make an impact across the Archdiocese of Denver by supporting these and many more offices and ministries. Your donation makes all the difference in the future of the Church here in northern Colorado and helps to form our next generation of Catholic leaders.
Visit archden.org/donate to make your gift today. Thank you for your generosity!