St Martin de Porres Church
31555 Hoover RD
Warren, MI 48093
Rev. Nicholas Zukowski, Pastor
Rev. Mr. Marion Jurewicz, Deacon
Tel: (586) 264-7515
Fax: (586) 264-4013
E-mail: parishoffice@smdeporres.com
How has the Catholic Services Appeal helped St. Martin de Porres Parish?
No parish exists as an independent congregation. Each parish is connected to the “Mother Church” which is the Diocese or Archdiocese. St. Martin de Porres Parish is in the midst of 55 years of stewardship, evangelization, and discipleship. The Archdiocese of Detroit is in the midst of 316 years of that same Gospel call to preach, to teach, to sanctify and to heal. When you support the Archdiocese of Detroit, you support St. Martin de Porres Parish and the other parishes, missions and institutions that make up the “local church” of Detroit.
-- Do you enjoy watching the Mass for Shut-ins and the Catholic Television Network of Detroit? Some of the programs at CTND are filmed and produced right here in the Archdiocese. Partial funding is provided by the C.S.A.
-- Some of our parishioners attend Sacred Heart Major Seminary for classes, workshops and personal formation. Some of the payment for the cost of the classes, workshops and formation sessions has come from the C.S.A.
-- We have a generous Christian Service outreach in our parish. The C.S.A. provides educational and spiritual opportunities for our parish nurse program.
-- Our Religious Education/Faith Formation program and our Youth Ministry continue to evolve into something wonderful. The Central Services Offices of the Archdiocese have been most helpful to insure that our children and youth will be given the best faith formation and knowledge of the content of our Catholic faith which we can provide in a safe environment. Our catechists and youth leaders have been trained by the Archdiocese of Detroit.
-- Are you in a good marriage and want to make it better? The C.S.A. provides the resources for Marriage Encounter. Are you in a troubled marriage? The C.S.A. funds the Retrovaille Weekends, where couples can try one last time to make their relationship work.
-- Are you in need of a church annulment from a prior marriage? The annulment process, which used to cost anywhere from $300 to $1000, depending on the amount of time and clerical talent needed, is absolutely free in this Archdiocese because the cost is entirely absorbed by the Catholic Services Appeal.
-- There are two primary ways each parish supports the goals and objectives of the Archdiocese of Detroit: an assessment based on the number of people in a parish, and the C.S.A., based on parish income. Both the Cathedraticum and the C.S.A. support the Archbishop and his mission of “Sharing Christ in and through the Church.” Your participation makes it all happen. Thank you and God bless you for your responsible Christian Stewardship and Discipleship and for your support of the New Evangelization! Pray that everyone in the Archdiocese of Detroit and in the whole world may “open doors and encounter Christ!”
May 2017
Dear Parishioners of St. Martin de Porres Parish,
There are three essential pillars in the faith life of the Catholic Christian: Evangelization, Discipleship and Stewardship. We evangelize, we spread the Good News of our salvation in Jesus Christ. We discipline ourselves as students of the Lord through prayer, fasting and almsgiving. We return to God a portion of what God has given us through our time in prayer, our time with family, sharing our gifts, and sharing our financial and material blessings with others.
The American Bishops suggest that the Catholic steward tithes or gives 10% of their income back to the Lord: 5% to the local parish, 4% to non-profit charities and 1% to the annual diocesan collection to fund the good work, ministry and service which they provide. For us, this would be the Catholic Services Appeal, established in 1982. The CSA supports the work of the Gospel on the diocesan level.
Last year’s parish target for St. Martin de Porres, set by the Archbishop, was $78,444. Thanks to your overwhelming generous response, we reached and exceeded that goal by $13,000! This year’s goal, $91,038, is 16% higher than last years, but it matches how much we received last year in pledges and gifts. We need everyone’s participation! Please prayerfully consider increasing your gift from last year.
If we reach and surpass our CSA target for 2017, I would like to tithe 10% of any surplus to the Knights of Columbus Christian Refugee Relief Fund which supports the St. Elizabeth University’s Project for Iraq in Need, bringing healing and hope to Christian refugees and genocide survivors. The other 90% of surplus funds will be used to improve our desperately-needed parish storage areas.
If you are pledging in quarterly or monthly installments, please send your initial donation to our parish. Payment reminders will be sent directly to you from downtown. If you are making a one-time only gift, please return your CSA pledge card to the designated boxes in church during the weekends of May 27-28 and June 3-4, 2017, or bring your pledge card and gift to the parish office. Make any checks out to “St. Martin de Porres CSA.”
As of May 1, you can go online to http://smdeporres.aodcsa.org and make your gift or pledge.
Please view the C. S. A. video above or go to aod.org which has segments that feature our parish nurse and parishioners. May it move you to support this worthy cause generously!
If you are in financial difficulty and unable to make a gift or pledge, please gift us with the support of your prayers for the spiritual and financial success of this year’s CSA.
Thank you and God bless you for your generous support!
Fr. Nick Zukowski, Pastor