Upon This Rock Weekly Newsletter

Out of Maintenance, Back into Mission

Last week, Richard C. Suchan, the executive director of The Foundation of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Buffalo, and Ryan Marshall, executive director of the Upon This Rock campaign, sat down with Gregg Prince of WNYCatholic Weekly for an in-depth conversation about this campaign.

“Upon This Rock is really a different initiative and focus for the Diocese of Buffalo,” Suchan noted, “as the demographics of the Diocese change, so has the way the Diocese needs to deliver its mission and ministry.” Throughout the interview, Suchan and Marshall delved into the many case elements of this campaign; the conversation serves as a wonderful education about Upon This Rock and the numerous programs and initiatives throughout the Diocese of Buffalo that it will benefit.

An underlying theme of the piece is developing a path forward for our Diocese. “Bishop Malone’s message through this whole process,” Marshall explained, “[…] is to get out of maintenance and back into mission.” The entire podcast is embedded on our website's homepage and can be found by clicking this link. Thank you again to Gregg Prince and the entire crew at WNYCatholic Weekly for hosting our team for this informative discussion!

Read below for even more good news from the Upon This Rock initiative!

A Prayer for Upon This Rock

Loving God, we come to You,
standing together in faith,
ready to realize the freshness of a bold endeavor,
as we look to the future of our Church.

Building up the Kingdom of God on earth is Your will and our privilege.
Bless our efforts with the energy and enthusiasm we need.

Jesus, our Redeemer,
encourage and guide us.
Open our hearts to be good stewards because of our love for You.

Holy Spirit, our Sanctifier,
empower us to carry out Your will for the Upon This Rock campaign.

May Your Goodness be upon us,
And give us success to the work of our hands and hearts.

We ask Your blessing now and always
through Christ Our Lord.

Amen!

St. Louis | Buffalo
Msgr. Salvatore Manganello reports that St. Louis’s first Commitment Weekend brought in $73,730 bringing the parish to 136% of goal and just $46,905 shy of its challenge goal. St. Louis held its second Commitment Weekend this past Saturday and Sunday, which will be reported on in next Tuesday’s newsletter.

Good Shepherd | Pendleton
At week’s end, Fr. Daniel Young reported that his parish was at 121% of goal from 173 gifts totaling $625,399. Good Shepherd held its second Commitment Weekend this past Saturday and Sunday, which will be reported on in next Tuesday’s newsletter.

St. Leo | Buffalo
The parish received nine gifts which totaled 44% of St. Leo’s goal – including a $500,000 pledge. From 93 gifts totaling $1,186,085, Msgr. Robert Zapfel reports his parish to be at 97% of goal.

Resurrection Parish | Batavia
At week’s end, Fr. Ivan Trujillo was proud to report that parishioners have raised 97% percent of goal – $892,900 from 124 gifts. Resurrection Parish held its first Commitment Weekend this past Saturday and Sunday, which will be reported on in next Tuesday’s newsletter.

St. John the Baptist | Lockport
Fr. James Waite reports that his parish continues to gain momentum heading into the last month of their campaign, raising more than $50,000 this week.

St. Aloysius | Cheektowaga
St. Aloysius held its first Commitment Weekend this past Saturday and Sunday, which will be reported on in next Tuesday’s newsletter.

St. Gregory the Great | Amherst
Fr. Leon Biernat reports that the parish raised $78,900 this week, taking St. Greg’s past the $1.5 million mark.

Block 2

All Saints | Buffalo
Fr. Angelo Chimera is thrilled to report that after less than one month of activity his parish is officially over goal. To date, the parish is at 101% of goal from 31 gifts totaling $286,800.

Holy Apostle | Jamestown
Although Fr. Dennis Mende has been meeting with parishioners for less than one month, Holy Apostle is already at 51% of goal.

St. Joseph Parish University | Buffalo
Fr. Jack Ledwon is beginning to meet parishioners to inform them about Upon This Rock already has recruited a fantastic group of Ambassadors who will help him spread the message of the campaign to their fellow parishioners.

St. Timothy | Tonawanda
Fr. Dennis Fronckowiak conducted his first week of visits with St. Timothy parishioners to discuss their involvement with the Upon This Rock campaign.

Infant of Prague | Cheektowaga
Fr. Raymond Corbin began making his first visits with parishioners last Monday, May 16.

St. Michael | Warsaw
At week’s end, Fr. James Hartwell reported that his parish was at 134% of goal, from 81 gifts totaling $354,175. St. Michael’s held its second Commitment Weekend this past Saturday and Sunday, which will be reported on in next Tuesday’s newsletter.

St. Anthony | Farnham
Fr. James Fliss will be starting off strong as he is scheduled to meet with 12 families this week!