Nov. 22, 2023 Parish Link

Catholic Schools Week submissions needed - Catholic Schools Week begins on Jan. 28, 2024. Catholic Times will be featuring the annual Catholic Schools Week special section in our January 21 edition. We would like every school to participate in this special section in recognition of Catholic education. Each school has two options and one way to submit your piece. You can either:

1. send Catholic Times an article of 250 (or so) words or:
2. send a picture with a short caption.

You will submit this using the online form here: https://www.jotform.com/form/92934909594979

When you submit your article or photograph about your school, the topic is up to you, with one exception — no sports stories. The stories should be typed and double-spaced, about 250 (or so) words. Photos should be 300 dpi or better and sent as an image file (such as .jpeg or .pdf). Everything must be submitted through the link above. Submissions must be made by Thursday, Dec. 14.

Please use this as an opportunity to highlight something unique at your school, even if it has occurred within the last few months. Whether it is an event, some of your students did something amazing, how your school gives back, something your students will be doing in 2024 that is exciting — anything that highlights Catholic education and especially your school. Think of this as a marketing opportunity to showcase your school.

Please see the website for October Count 2023: https://dio.org/chancellor/

Minimum Wage Increase: Friendly reminder, the minimum wage in Illinois increases again on January 1, 2024, gong from $13 per hour to $14 per hour. There will be one more increase on January 1, 2025 to $15 per hour.

More information can be found here: Hourly Minimum Wage Rates by Year - Fair Labor Standards Division (illinois.gov)

Mission Magazine, Autumn Edition:  Invitation to read “Mission” a magazine of the Pontifical Mission Societies which has stories about the remote regions, communities, and families you serve with donations to the Pope’s Missions.

Check out the autumn edition of Mission. Walk alongside a priest pursuing his doctorate, come to better understand the continued hardships plaguing Syria, watch as a religious sister offers comforting hugs to those with leprosy, and so much more.

Important Instructions for Gifts of Stock - Notify Katie Price if you know a donor plans to send a gift of stock to the Diocesan brokerage account. This is very important for identifying the donor and your parish/ministry as the beneficiary. If you need information on how donors can gift stock to you via the Diocesan brokerage account, visit www.freewill.com/stocks/dioceseofspringfield or contact Katie (kprice@dio.org, 217-321-1121)

ParishStaq/PushPay Implementation - If you missed the recent launch webinar, you can listen to the recording here: ParishStaq_PushPay Launch and Q & A Webinar-20231109_100146-Meeting Recording.mp4

Congrats to the churches who have launched their own branded giving page, including St. Ambrose, Godfrey!

THE NEXT UPCOMING WEBINAR is on data migration. Here are the details: 

Topic: Data Migration into Parishstaq

Wednesday, Nov 29th, 1pm - 2pm CT

Pre-Register Here (registration is required) 

This webinar will be recorded, but of course, it's funner live! Questions covered include:

1. How we will help you migrate your data
2. Which data you should migrate
3. How we will help you consolidate your data moving forward (cleaner databases!)
4. How to access your implementation project plan

If you have questions regarding implementing this new diocesan and parish software, please contact Katie Price at kprice@dio.org. To reach out to ParishStaq directly, please get in touch with John Antonio at john.antonio@pushpay.com

Centennial Campaign Update - Thank you to these parishes who have submitted their Parish Vitality Study: SS. Mary and Joseph, Carlinville; Greenville, St. Lawrence; Virden, Sacred Heart; Springfield, Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception; Benld, St. Joseph; Quincy, St. Francis Solanus Parish; White Hall, All Saints; Decatur, Holy Family; Springfield, Christ the King; Petersburg, St. Peter; Maryville, Mother of Perpetual Help; Edwardsville, St. Mary; Pana, St. Patrick; Hillsboro, St. Agnes; Quincy, St. Peter Parish

Please note, we will be following up with the parishes listed above soon and scheduling parish visits for further information or to schedule a time to present the Parish Vitality Report to your leaders.

If you have NOT completed your Parish Vitality Study, please go to: dio.org/parishvitalitystudy. The study takes 2-3 months to review and compile the report. Please be patient with our response, and we thank you in advance for your cooperation. Your parish should not begin work on your Centennial Campaign Project until you have submitted a Parish Vitality Study.

Questions? Please contact Katie Price at kprice@dio.org

Invest In Kids/Empower Illinois Update - We have resources for schools who are concerned with the closing of the Invest In Kids Act through Empower Illinois scholarships. If you would like to see an example customizable flyer we can send to your school, click here: DRAFT Example IIK Scholarship Flyer

If you would like to discuss your situation with us, please reach out and we will see how we can support you through this transition. Contact Katie Price at kprice@dio.org or for flyers, graphics, or web/social media designs, please contact Debbie Benz at dbenz@dio.org

Year-End Giving Tools for Stocks and Qualified Charitable Distributions - If your parish is interested in bulletin inserts for year-end planned gifts and gifts of non-cash assets, we have those samples for you! These types of gifts through stocks or qualified charitable contributions are helpful to every parish! If you have parishioners over the age of 70 ½, you will benefit from these types of gifts! We have a few examples of bulletin graphics we have shared and customized in the past below. Contact Debbie Benz for more information or to design something for your parish at debenz@dio.org.

Graphic for Stock Donations

Graphic for Stock and QCD Gifts

Word of Life:  December’s edition of Word of Life is now available.  Word of Life is a monthly resource for parishes.  The resource is available in both English and Spanish, in both PDF or Microsoft Word formats.  Each monthly issue contains information such as:  a feature reflection for the month, intercessions for life, quotes for your bulletin, and art for your bulletin, webpage or Facebook page.

Parish Registration to host Totus Tuus - Totus Tuus returns to the Diocese of Springfield in Illinois in the Summer of 2024. Parish Registration is now open! Please use this link to register: https://form.jotform.com/232916484986069

Totus Tuus will run for 5 weeks at various parishes in the Diocese of Springfield in Illinois throughout the summer. Totus Tuus runs during weeks between June 8th - July 26th, 2024. There will be a break week with no Totus Tuus during that time as well. Specific dates will be assigned after registration.

The mission of Totus Tuus is to instill in young people a true longing for holiness, a deep desire for daily conversion and an openness to their vocation. This is done by challenging the youth to give themselves entirely to Christ through Mary and continually strengthen their prayer lives in imitation of Her.

Please direct all questions to the Diocesan Director of Totus Tuus, Daniel Heffernan at dheffernan@dio.org.