Dear Friends,
With heartfelt gratitude and renewed hope, I reach out as we Go Forward with God’s Mission through this year’s Annual Appeal for Catholic Ministries.
As a Parish Renewal Specialist in the Office of Parish Renewal for our Archdiocese, I am blessed to witness powerful transformation in our parish communities, thanks to your faithful support.Each parish is called to form missionary disciples, and that starts by building intentional pathways of faith. Through your generosity, parish renewal is coming to life. From city churches to rural missions, the Holy Spirit is moving through worship, outreach, leadership, and service.
Our work is shaped by six core mission priorities and your gift is making a difference in each:
📍 Transformative Liturgy: Conscious, active, and full participation of the faithful at Mass is drawing people back to the sacraments, including through Eucharistic Processions that fill our streets with joyful public worship.
📍 Welcome: Parishes are forming vibrant communities of radical hospitality, connection, and outreach to those on the peripheries, with a focus on welcoming others as Jesus did.
📍 Encounter: Through evangelization and outreach, people are experiencing life-changing moments with Christ, some returning to the Church after years away.
📍 Accompaniment: Entering into friendship with others and growing as disciples, Family and Young Adult Ministry is creating spaces for deeper relationships and spiritual growth, laying foundations for the future of our Church.
📍 Sending: Parishes are forming sister parish relationships and collaborating across communities bringing Christ to the world and living out missionary discipleship. Ministries like SALT (Serving All with Love Together) at Our Lady of Perpetual Help in Ellicott City, prepare and deliver meals to our neighbors in downtown Baltimore.
📍 Mission Support: We are equipping pastors, deacons, and lay leaders with the tools they need to practice wise stewardship of God’s gifts to support our mission through formation and planning to lead with clarity and compassion.Parish renewal is the work of the Living Church and it depends on your prayerful support. Your gift to the Annual Appeal for Catholic Ministries is an investment in a faith-filled future, an investment that transforms lives and saves souls.
Please prayerfully consider making a sacrificial gift or pledge today by way of one of the options offered. Whether large or small, your generosity will help renew every parish and every heart across our Archdiocese.
In Christ’s peace,
Deacon Roch Kallmyer
Parish Renewal Staff