Firstly, on a very happy note, it was reported in Zenit today that Irish Abortion Rates Fall for 6th Straight Year. Abortion is illegal in the Republic of Ireland except in very stringent circumstances owing to its Catholic roots, which is why each year thousands of Irish girls go over to the UK to perform abortions...
Aside from that, I am currently on the last leg of my summer holidays. I've been travelling to KL and am currently in Singapore. Something very interesting happened during my stay at the Church of St. Paul the Apostle, Kuala Kubu Baru, which made me think of what I could do with my blog.
During dinner with my good friend, Fr. Danny Mathews, we were discussing about the new grotto he is planning to erect at the church and also some other developments. It turns out some parishioner of his had donated a sum of money for a grotto, and he was looking for a suitably priced and sized Marian statue to be housed in the grotto. So I contacted Andrew of Unam Sanctam for some of his expertise, and the results were quite stunning.
To me, money is a very sensitive issue to broach, especially in church. It just does not seem right to keep asking the people of God for more money for this and for that. It should in my opinion be given willingly. The church is always riddled with endless fund raising projects- if it's not this church that needs funds to repair a roof, it's for another church which needs a new community centre.
One of the most ludicrous ones in my opinion happens durign the St. Anne's Feast in BM every year. Each year, a new project is proposed and is fully paid up for by the next year. The sanctuary now has some ugly life sized stations of the cross around the church, an overabundance of fans, and numerous other needless items.
Even though some of the projects seem redundant or extravagant, what we have observed is that people will actually sponsor something you need, as long as they know what it is. In other words, the people of God need to know, and sometimes see, what they are giving money for.
Putting this theory into practice, I contacted Andrew to enquire about the price of the Marian statue and overnight, there were already pledges made to sponsor this statue. Later on in the afternoon, there was excess money, with which a statue of the Holy Family and a Crucifix for the sanctuary of the church was bought. The church had received 3 items of need instead of 1.
The next night, Andrew called up to inform that even more money was available and that he would be able to proceed to purchase a processional cross for the church and there was still money left over for an outdoor movable altar for masses to be celebrated in front of the proposed grotto. Amazing!
Later on, Fr. Danny informed that a group of people had agreed to raise funds to give the church a new coat of paint! Wow! Yahweh Jireh indeed...
Anyway, as I was sitting in the coach on my way to Singapore, an idea sprung into my mind. I was pondering what could possibly happen if I used my blog to highlight the needs of the church where the readers will be able to spread the word around and help to contribute towards a worthy cause rather than to some other projects which are unnecessary.
I am still pondering and reflecting on this idea. It is a very complicated matter indeed- how many people actually read this blog, and how many projects to highlight; to what extent will I be involved in the projects and other matters need to be sorted out first. If you have any ideas, do drop me a comment or email me about it.
In the meantime, I will publish a trial run to see how well this may take off. Interesting times do indeed lie ahead.
To me, money is a very sensitive issue to broach, especially in church. It just does not seem right to keep asking the people of God for more money for this and for that. It should in my opinion be given willingly. The church is always riddled with endless fund raising projects- if it's not this church that needs funds to repair a roof, it's for another church which needs a new community centre.
One of the most ludicrous ones in my opinion happens durign the St. Anne's Feast in BM every year. Each year, a new project is proposed and is fully paid up for by the next year. The sanctuary now has some ugly life sized stations of the cross around the church, an overabundance of fans, and numerous other needless items.
Even though some of the projects seem redundant or extravagant, what we have observed is that people will actually sponsor something you need, as long as they know what it is. In other words, the people of God need to know, and sometimes see, what they are giving money for.
Putting this theory into practice, I contacted Andrew to enquire about the price of the Marian statue and overnight, there were already pledges made to sponsor this statue. Later on in the afternoon, there was excess money, with which a statue of the Holy Family and a Crucifix for the sanctuary of the church was bought. The church had received 3 items of need instead of 1.
The next night, Andrew called up to inform that even more money was available and that he would be able to proceed to purchase a processional cross for the church and there was still money left over for an outdoor movable altar for masses to be celebrated in front of the proposed grotto. Amazing!
Later on, Fr. Danny informed that a group of people had agreed to raise funds to give the church a new coat of paint! Wow! Yahweh Jireh indeed...
Anyway, as I was sitting in the coach on my way to Singapore, an idea sprung into my mind. I was pondering what could possibly happen if I used my blog to highlight the needs of the church where the readers will be able to spread the word around and help to contribute towards a worthy cause rather than to some other projects which are unnecessary.
I am still pondering and reflecting on this idea. It is a very complicated matter indeed- how many people actually read this blog, and how many projects to highlight; to what extent will I be involved in the projects and other matters need to be sorted out first. If you have any ideas, do drop me a comment or email me about it.
In the meantime, I will publish a trial run to see how well this may take off. Interesting times do indeed lie ahead.
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