Our Stewardship Prayer
O God, Loving Creator and Source of all that we have, thank you for the many gifts you have given your people, our parishes and the Diocese of Beaumont. Grant us the spirit of true Christian Stewardship so we may carry out Your Mission. Open our minds to the Gospel Message. Open our hearts to conversion.Open our hands that we might freely share the gifts you have bestowed upon us. May sorrow, conflict and poverty be diminished in our Diocese because we have responded in Christ-like love and generosity. Gracious God, send us your Spirit to accompany us on our Journey to Stewardship. We ask this in the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
Click here to download the 2016 BFA Brochure (English/Spanish)(pdf)
Thank You For Sharing In Our Need
We give thanks to our God at our every remembrance of our generous stewards, our pastors, parish leaders and all those who partner with us in grace to carry out the work of Jesus through diocesan ministries and Catholic Charities of Southeast Texas. We pray always with joy in our hearts at our every thought of them. Remembering how they have helped us to spread the Good News. We are confident the One who began this good work in them will continue to complete it until the day of Christ Jesus.
What Does the Lord require us to do?
The prophet Micah answers that question emphatically: act justly, love mercy and walk humbly with our God. Seven centuries later the Gospel writer echoes those thoughts through the words of the Messiah as He tells us to welcome the stranger, feed the hungry, visit the imprisoned. (Mt. 25:31-45) Now, more than 2,000 years after the birth of Jesus, Pope Francis, in calling for a Year of Mercy, reminds us that it is through the Works of Mercy that we will be recognized as Disciples of Christ.
Act With Justice
Join with us in carrying out the spiritual and corporal works of Mercy by being part of diocesan ministries and Catholic Charities of Southeast Texas through the Bishop’s Faith Appeal. These ministries establish a community where all are included. Our African American ministry sponsors a yearly multi-cultural celebration occurring near the birthday of Martin Luther King Jr. Our Hispanic Ministry responds to the growing need for evangelization to the thousands of recent immigrants who now make their homes in Southeast Texas. Our Apostleship of the Sea Ministry provides for the spiritual needs of those who enter our ports: more than 50,000 mariners yearly.
Love Mercy
Pope Francis has asked us to “enter more deeply into the heart of the Gospel where the poor have a special experience of God.” In truth, all of us are poor in some way and in need of God’s grace. Our ministries respond to those various forms of poverty. Each year hundreds of unemployed, elderly, disabled and homeless people are fed at Catholic Charities’ Hospitality Center. And, still hundreds of others are fed spiritually as they are formed and prepared to come to the Eucharistic table by catechists who are trained through the Office of Evangelization and Catechesis.
Walk With Our God
Through your gift to the Bishop’s Faith Appeal, you will be walking with Our Lord as we minister to the sick, the elderly, the young and the imprisoned. Through your gift, you will be bringing Christ to our sick and elderly as our chaplains visit them at several area convalescent homes. Your gift will help provide Catholic-based spiritual, social, and recreational events for teenagers as well as college students at Lamar University. And you’ll walk with Jesus through prison doors as we take the Gospel message to the nearly 30,000 men and women incarcerated in Southeast Texas.
Ministries that you are helping
African American Ministry
Apostleship of the Sea
Campus Ministry
Catholic Charities of Southeast Texas
Communications
Continuing Education
Criminal Justice Ministry
Evangelization and Catechesis
Family Life Ministry
Hispanic Ministry
Holy Family Retreat Center
Infirm Priests
Ministry to the Sick
Office of Worship
Permanent Diaconate Formation
Stewardship
Superintendent of Catholic Schools
Tribunal
Youth Ministry
2016 BFA Chairs
Diocesan Chairs
| Diocesan Chair | Brian & Sally Kunk |
| Priest Chair | Fr. Augustine Wall, S.V.D. |
| New Participation Chair | Marcelino Rodriguez |
| New Participation Chair | Daniele Nettles |
| Honorary Chairs | Brad & Ginger Downs |
Parish Chairs
| Parish | Name |
| Our Mother of Mercy – Ames | Debbie Goudeau |
| Our Mother of Mercy-Ames | Dorothy Elliott |
| OLO Light – Anahuac | |
| St. Anthony – Bmt | Sheila & Michael McFarland |
| St. Anne-BMT | Debbie Oliver |
| St. Anne-BMT | Mary A. & Brenda Brown |
| OLO the Assumption – Bmt | Lisa Ford |
| OLO the Assumption – Bmt | Sandra Abbage |
| OLO the Assumption – Bmt | Sonya K. Donato |
| OLO the Assumption – Bmt | Paul Montes |
| OLO the Assumption – Bmt | Dolores DeBlanc |
| Blessed Sacrament – Bmt | Yvonne Jenkins |
| Blessed Sacrament – Bmt | Phillip Johnson |
| Blessed Sacrament – Bmt | Roy Lemell |
| Blessed Sacrament – Bmt | Rita Smiley |
| Cristo Rey – Bmt | Richard and Ana G. Rosario |
| St. Joseph – Bmt | Linda H. Le |
| St. Pius X – Bmt | Don & Loyce Pumphrey |
| Our Mother of Mercy – Bmt | Jackie Simien |
| St. Jude Thaddeus – Bmt | Pat O’Neill |
| St. Henry – Bridge City | Janice Menard |
| St. Francis – Buna | Anthony & Rebecca Michalsky |
| St. Martin – Cheek | Esteban Lopez |
| OLO Sorrows | Carolyn Hardy |
| St. Mary – Cleveland | |
| St. Joseph the Worker – Dayton | Laura Evans |
| St. Joseph the Worker – Dayton | Richard Till |
| St. Anne – Eastgate | |
| St. Mary – Fannett | Maureen Mason |
| Immaculate Conception-Groves | Alvin & Grace Adams |
| St. Peter | Robert & Tammy Mouton |
| St. Michael – Jasper | Deacon Bill & Regina Lawrence |
| OLO LaSalette – Kirbyville | Deacon Wiley & Jackie Chapman |
| Holy Spirit | |
| Immaculate Conception – Liberty | David and Mary Ann Allison |
| St. Joseph – Livingston | Sue Rees |
| St. Joseph-Livingston | Mary Ann Wilson |
| St. Joseph-Livingston | Jane Groendyke |
| St. Joseph-Livingston | Mary Jo Yackley |
| Infant Jesus | |
| St. Maurice – Mauriceville | Stacey & Kevin Menard |
| Holy Trinity – Mont Belvieu | Rose Marshall |
| Holy Trinity – Mont Belvieu | Lydia Schneider |
| St. Charles – Nederland | Wade and Lindsey Aguillard |
| St. Mary – Orange | Gilbert Mazzola |
| St. Therese – Orange | |
| St. Francis – Orange | |
| St. Helen-Orangefield | |
| St. Therese Little Flower – PA | Linda Johnson |
| St. Therese Little Flower – PA | Dana McComber |
| St. Therese Little Flower – PA | Ricardo Serna |
| OLO Guadalupe – PA | |
| Sacred Heart/St. Mary – PA | Virginia Miller |
| Scared Heart/St. Mary-PA | Earline Narcisse |
| St. Catherine – PA | Robert & Mary Ann Reid |
| St. James – PA | Peter & Rita Manuel |
| St. John – PA | Jacqueline Guillory |
| St. Joseph-PA | Patricia Bermudes |
| St. Joseph-PA | Bob Brammer |
| Queen of Vietnam – PA | Carol V. Pham |
| Queen of Vietnam – PA | Victoria Pham |
| Queen of Vietnam – PA | Kim Dung Nguyen |
| Queen of Vietnam – PA | Fr. Tam Nguyen |
| St. Elizabeth – PN | |
| St. Raymond – Rayburn | Deacon Glen & Peggy Hebert |
| Sacred Heart – Raywood | Lou Lemond |
| Sacred Heart-Raywood | Effie Sharp |
| St. Mark – Silsbee | |
| OLO Victory – Sour Lake | Terry Radley |
| OLO Lourdes – Vidor | Carl Woodall |
| OLO Lourdes – Vidor | Stephen Sellers |
| St. Louis – Winnie | |
| OLO the Pines – Woodville | James & Jerry Parso |
The Appeal- Intercessions/Petitions
Throughout the course of the Bishop’s Faith Appeal, please use at least one of the following petitions each weekend. Please make these available now to your liturgists and lectors.
Advance Gift Phase:
That we may consider the many gifts that God has given us and use them to serve one another as we answer our baptismal call so that we may carry out what the Lord requires of us.
We pray…
Education Weekend:
That all of us may demonstrate an understanding that we represent the Catholic Church to the Southeast Texas community so that we may bring about a community based in justice and mercy.
We pray …
Commitment Weekend:
That we may act in accordance with God’s will as we work together to carry out the mission of Jesus through our diocesan ministries and Catholic Charities.
We pray …
Follow-up Weekend:
That we may answer God’s call to carry the Gospel message to the poor, the lost, the vulnerable and the unchurched acting as one faith community rooted in Christ and committed to walking daily with our God.
We pray …
Follow-up Weekends:
We ask that we may always be hospitable to one another, including the stranger among us, without complaining, and serve one another as good stewards of our many gifts.
We pray …
Throughout the Year:
That as we deepen our commitment to the Gospel message, we come to understand that Stewardship is a way of life for Christ’s Disciples.
We pray …
Bulletin and Pulpit Announcements
EDUCATION WEEKEND – January 23-24
Next weekend, we will be asked to make a commitment to support our diocesan ministries and Catholic Charities of Southeast Texas through our prayers and our financial gifts. We do this each year through our Bishop’s Faith Appeal. This year’s theme is “Act Justly, Love Mercy, Walk Humbly” taken from Micah 6:8. To do justice refers to human behavior in relationship to others. To love goodness refers to the kind of love and concern which is at the heart of the covenant; it is persistently faithful. To walk humbly with your God means to listen carefully to the revealed will of God doing what is required of us. Imagine a community where none go hungry, where all feel welcomed, where those who mourn are comforted and where those who are lost learn of the healing love of Jesus. Know that our diocesan ministries are already doing much to bring about such a community through their work. And if you and I join them through our support they can do much more. Please take the time this week to learn about their work by reading the Appeal materials that are being provided to you today and by reading the latest edition of our East Texas Catholic. If our parish exceeds its goal, the overage is returned to the parish. Many parishes use their overage to accomplish special projects that they deem to be a goal of their own.
COMMITMENT WEEKEND – January 30-31
Today is the day that Bishop Guillory and our parish ask(ed) for your support for 2016 Bishop’s Faith Appeal. Our theme this year – “Act Justly, Love Mercy, Walk Humbly” – is a call to all of us to create a community of welcoming believers here in Southeast Texas who reflect God’s mercy and act with justice. You can help create that type of community by supporting diocesan ministries and Catholic Charities of Southeast Texas through a prayer and financial commitment today. Those ministries help to feed the hungry through our own Hospitality Center in Port Arthur. They support marriages through our Family Life Ministry’s many retreats. And they evangelize to the young through Diocesan Youth Ministry and Campus Ministry at Lamar. That’s just a small part of what they do to build a just community that extends mercy. Remember, God asks that your gift only be proportional to what you have been given. Your BFA parish team and Father (Msgr.) have already made their pledges. Please make your prayer and financial commitment this week.
FOLLOW -UP WEEKEND – February 6-7
If you have not made your gift to the Bishop’s Faith Appeal, please prayerfully consider doing so. Our hospitality ministers are again passing out the Pew-Pledge Envelopes and the Spiritual Pledge/Intention Cards. The Appeal continues to be necessary because many needs in our diocese cannot be effectively met by the individual Christian or by the local parish. Currently, our diocesan ministries are facing increased requests for their work. They need your help to respond to these requests. We thank everyone who has pledged to the 2016 Appeal. If you haven’t made a pledge, we ask you to pray to the Holy Spirit as you consider your blessings. Then we ask you to make a proportional and intentional gift of your treasure and your prayer time to the appeal based on your current circumstances. Think about this: if you have not suffered from hunger you are better off than many U.S. citizens who live in deep poverty. Some of them are your neighbors here in Southeast Texas. We ask that you make a pledge to the appeal, as an expression of your gratitude for your many blessings.
2nd FOLLOW-UP WEEKEND – February 13-14
On behalf of Bishop Guillory and the more than 110,000 individuals who are served by our diocesan ministries, I thank all those who have pledged to this year’s Bishop’s Faith Appeal. If you have not made a financial and prayer pledge, we ask you to prayerfully consider doing so. Pledge envelopes and Spiritual Pledge/Intention cards are available in the pews.
3rd FOLLOW-UP WEEKEND – February 20-21
Contact Information
Physical Address
710 Archie Street
Beaumont, TX 77701
Telephone: (409) 924-4300