Fundraising

“There are many on-going activities at St. Francis for which we are forever thankful”.

First, for our many ministries that continue to grow and broaden our impact in the community, just as they should and must.

We are also continually blessed to receive contributions to the build- ing fund. While some of these are for completing pledges, some are new gifts which are also deeply appreciated. The building fund will be used to help pay for approved projects to complete the original building and grounds plan, such as parking and driveways—as

these funds are made available to cover the costs.

If there are to be any new projects proposed, these would necessarily draw from new gifts to the building fund and other financial resources, as necessary.

On behalf of the entire community, thank you for your very generous contributions to the building fund! What we have accomplished in a little over three years is a testament to God’s guidance and grace, and to our hard work in bringing to fruition His plan to build a church in Yulee.

It would have been a difficult enough project with just the core faithful who attended Mass at “Yulee United Methodist”. But without doubt, by gaining many new families and greatly increasing participation at Mass in Yulee (made possible through your visible commitment and relevant work) our faith community was able to meet our big financial commitment. And as we grew, adding additional activities, making our ministries vibrant and meaningful, learning to make the best use of our facility, our Lord surely challenged us.

It is no mystery how and why we were able to become debt-free, move into our place of worship and use its facilities in meaningful ways to support our communities. So many times opportunities slide by when the faithful don’t hear, or don’t accept the challenges. For us, through our campaign prayer, we followed our intercessor and model, St. Francis, and when we regularly asked of Our Lord, “to open our hearts to your grace, and our eyes to the needs of our neighbors”, I think we did hear and listen. No, it wasn’t easy sometimes, but all were within our capability because we DID hear.

Working together in committees and groups, we planned, designed, oversaw construction, funded and have now come to make good use of our wonderful building. It is not just our spiritual home, but a practical place from which to continue with our “real mission” – to see, and to try to resolve the needs of our neighbors. Along the way, I hope you discovered (as I did) that we are very purposeful people at St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Mission in Yulee, Florida, who, with God in our minds, hearts and hands, can meet the challenges He gives us to face. We are about to celebrate our second anniversary. Our ministries are now poised to be able to do more with a redirection of our energies from building to creating opportunities to serve. As we continue to attract new families to St. Francis, we will also find new ways to serve, and have more reasons to do so. Our prayer initiatives are strong and fruitful. We meet and have fun. We learn and are properly guided. We support each other. We are a community.

It has been my distinct honor to have been a part of this project alongside you in this community.

For, “It is in giving that we receive.”

Wayne Munson

On behalf of all the Volunteers

We are delighted to have seen our community step forward again and again, serving our outreach ministries, and helping fund our activities and building campaign. We are ever closer to completing our goal, but none of this would have been possible without you. From the “Founders” to our recent new members, THANK YOU for what you do! As a reminder, for 2017 tax purposes, if you are considering a year-end charitable contribution to St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Mission, please try to do so no later than December 31st. Also, we thank you for completing your building fund pledges during December as we look to conclude our campaign on time.

(Oh, and, there is still room to place your leaf on the Giving Tree with total Campaign giving of at least $1,800)

For details about the Campaign, or how to make your gift, please contact Wayne Munson at: fundraising@stfrancisyulee.org

Thank you, for, “It is in giving that we receive”

As a community, we recently looked back upon our tentative beginnings. Like all growing organizations we have seen our growth in not always predictable spurts. While it has been a long journey from 2007 to now, we are almost at the successful completion of our building campaign. Yes, we looked back a bit and marveled at our progress, but we also took time to see us as of Yoday and note some things we must do, and mused some about the future.

We can appreciate the past, and enjoy the present, but we cannot know the future. That is why it is ever so more encouraging that, as a community, we have continued to grow in membership and in the depth of support.

Thank you, for, “It is in giving that we receive”

We often hear the phrase, “give a proportional amount of your time, talent and treasure” when an organization requests your support for a common charitable goal. For most, this should mean that we are being asked to offer a balanced amount of these precious gifts for an appropriate higher use.

• “Time” to add your thoughts and prayers, and to express your ideas and concerns for our community.

• “Talent”, given by God, to use in resolving a common need or troubling issue.

• “Treasure” to share, to help fund and support a common goal. We make this request with care, and we will neither squander nor minimize these precious gifts in the ebb and flow of parish life. And, when you give to St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Mission – whether for the Campaign or toward weekly stewardship support, or for special intentions, we respect and acknowledge your gift because it is freely given by you.

For details about the Campaign, or how to make your gift, please contact Wayne Munson at: fundraising@stfrancisyulee.org . For, “It is in giving that we receive”. If you would like to discuss automatic payment options for your donations to St. Francis, please see our bookkeeper, Maureen, in the church office during office hours

The St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Mission in Yulee is truly a special faith-filled community. In the recent, difficult and turbulent days we have journeyed together, our community has not only generously contributed to charities for those who are most in need, but in a true outpouring of self, you have continued to support our own Mission church as well as the capital campaign.

Once again, we learn from nature’s power that much we have and enjoy is but momentarily given. But, we also learn that what we truly have is the spirit of love and the need to cooperate in doing the many things that we do for each other. We continue to grow through your  support.

Thank you for all that
you do!

A member recently asked, “Why should we give to the (St. Francis of Assisi “It is in giving that we receive”) building campaign? Isn’t the
building finished?”

“Why” is one of the most important questions to answer before you make any gift. The appropriate answer starts with you. Perhaps your values are compatible with our mission and you wish to make a gift out of solidarity. We hope that we have earned your trust that we will fulfill the campaign promises. and that is why you will take part in the campaign. One donor when making her early pledge said that, having been fortunate in life, she wanted, “to help make a difference now in the community”. Several donors have made gifts dedicated to the memory of their loved ones. Others have sought to show their leadership, believing it important to make a statement that encourages others to follow their lead. Still others have given quietly and “anonymously”, a request that we have promised to honor.

As with all recognized and properly operating not-for-profit organizations, there may also be a tax-benefit in making a financial contribution. We encourage our donors to consider the potential of a tax-wise gift, even when “doing a good thing”. Regardless of your reasons for contributing, we hope that our answer to the “why question” focuses upon the future of the St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Mission community. We believe it is a compelling cause, and that you know we will be respectful and purposeful with your contribution.

Yes, our building is complete and we are using it to its capacity, but we have yet to fully pay for it. We then will have much to do in growing our ministries, and that is another reason “why” it is important for all our community members to be a part of our building campaign.

For, “It is in giving that we receive”.
For details about specific campaign needs, please contact Wayne Munson at: fundraising@stfrancisyulee.org.

 “Just going to church doesn’t make you a Christian any more than standing in your garage makes you a car”

Thanks to Deacon Brian for reviving that great G.K. Chesterton quote. As we have often noted, the Catholic Christian community of St. Francis has been built through the efforts of many folks who did more than “stand in the garage”. Your generous offering of time, talent, friendship, and yes, treasure, has built our spiritual home in Yulee. We are also greatly encouraged that many of our newest members have joined in supporting the building campaign and are taking part in our ministries. Thank you, friends, old and new. To successfully complete our Campaign goals, we ask that if you have made a pledge, that you continue to make your pledge payments on time. For those who would like to make their first gift, or for those who wish to make an additional one, please contact Wayne Munson at: fundraising@stfrancisyulee.or or inquire at the Mission office at (904) 849-7554.

MOVING FORWARD

Lennon and McCartney wrote: “The long and winding road that leads me to your door, will never disappear. I’ve seen that road before. It leads me to your door.”

At our community meeting Sunday, we talked about future options, including pausing plans for a Sanctuary, finishing our building and, most importantly, to turning more inward to grow our community and ministries. We have traveled our road to “build His CHURCH” since 2006, and it is the right time to take a rest, stop and refresh. When we hit the road, again, it may still be long and winding, but we pray the road will lead us to “His” door.

The gathering’s consensus was to finish our multipurpose building and to fix the property. And, since we are going to be using our current facility as our church for quite a while, there was also consensus to add a covered outdoor pavilion for gatherings. Other issues will surely deserve our attention in the months ahead.

Finally, we are close to completing the Campaign goal. We sincerely request that our pledge makers fulfill their intentions, and that those who have not yet made their building fund gift, to do so. We will be using and enjoying the current facilities for years to come, so let’s do what we must to keep it sufficient to support our liturgies, instruction and community as it was designed to do.

For details about the Campaign, or how to make your gift, please contact Wayne Munson at: fundraising@stfrancisyulee.org

On behalf of our whole community, we again say, “thank you” to all who have joined us on the journey to build our spiritual home. 

The “It is in giving that we receive” capital building campaign began formally on September 1, 2014, and as of August 12^th, we have raised almost $2,552,000 toward our campaign goal of $2,591,000.

As a quasi-parish, functioning independently without a sponsoring parish, we receive guidance from the Diocese regarding many of the things we need to do in the building.  On the other hand, we are relatively free to continue to build our faith community.

But we are not a finished product in that we are still growing our ministries and must fully fund our building. In September 2016, Fr. Rafal sent a campaign overview followed by a “specific request” for our members to consider during the final months of the building campaign. The plan was to use the remaining months in the campaign period to raise and obtain at sufficient new gifts to meet our goal. The campaign will conclude on December 31, 2017.

With the help of a faithful and untiring volunteer team, our donors have added over 200,000 in new funding.  Thus, we need to raise about $40,000 in new giving. This means that we must ask some of our members to make their first-time ever campaign gift to help us meet this goal. And, for those who have a current pledge, to faithfully and sacrificially complete your outstanding pledge on time. As of today, there are 35 pledges with a balance of about $70,000 outstanding. We are counting on these to finish our campaign.

As a reminder, when you want to make a building fund gift, please carefully mark your envelopes and checks: “building fund”.

If you have questions about the campaign, please contact Fr. Rafal or Wayne Munson.

Thank you for all you do to meet Christ’s challenge to St. Francis to “Build My Church”.

For, “It is in giving – that we receive”.