March 20, 2005

Only one priest in the diocese has been involved in all three waves of the Growing in Faith Together (GIFT) capital-stewardship campaign, so it was natural to ask him whether he felt thrice blessed regarding that distinction.

“That’s a loaded question,” replied Father Bill McKenzie, pastor of St. Therese Parish in Clinton and St. Joseph Parish in Norris.

The campaign launched in seven pilot parishes last spring, moved to wave one in the fall, with 16 parishes participating, and continues with the second wave this spring in 22 parishes. Father McKenzie was the associate pastor of a pilot parish, Our Lady of Fatima in Alcoa, when the pilot phase began. He was reassigned last June in time to shepherd a wave-one parish in St. Therese and a wave-two parish in St. Joseph.
     Father Bill McKenzie

Despite having pulled triple GIFT duty, Father McKenzie said he looks on the opportunity as a boon.

“Probably the greatest thing I’ve learned is that you have to be patient and trust God that it’s going to work,” he said. “When you start the program, you think, This’ll never pull together, but it always does. If you allow it to, it really builds a sense of God’s presence in the community. [The campaign] is a lot more than money.”

Father McKenzie said he has been equally busy in all three GIFT drives but pointed out one “major difference” after he left a parish of more than 750 families in Alcoa for one of 162 in Clinton and 115 in Norris.

“You don’t have the support staff that you do in a large parish to help you pull a lot of it together,” he said. “You depend a lot more on volunteers and the involvement of the people.”

Parishes are generally using their share of GIFT funds either for debt retirement—as at Our Lady of Fatima—or for building improvements or additions. Father McKenzie’s current parishes fall in the latter category: St. Therese members hope to add more space for worship and education whereas St. Joseph parishioners need to expand their church to add classrooms.

“But the overall goal of the program is the same everywhere, and that’s building up the body of Christ,” said Father McKenzie. “In a very real sense we’re something much greater than just our small, local communities. We’re part of something greater, which is the church. It’s because of that we share a lot of common interests and goals, and we work together to make those happen.”

Parish holding GIFT poster festival

St. John Neumann Parish in Farragut kicked off a children’s Growing in Faith Together (GIFT) poster festival with a pep rally Feb. 20. Activities included visor decorating, hair and face painting, a bubble-wrap run, and a “Stone Soup” skit featuring (from left) Ann Taylor as Grandma, Lynn Oravitz as the narrator, and pastor Father John Dowling as Mr. Steak & Shake. Mrs. Oravitz is the parish GIFT campaign children’s activities leader. Children can choose from six themes for their posters: “I Love SJN,” “Sacrifice,” “It Is Fun to Give,” “Not Equal Gifts but Equal Sacrifice,” “Growing in Faith Together,” and “Lord, What Do You Want to Do Through Me?” Posters will hang in the church during the campaign and will be judged by the Farragut Arts Council. Awards for first, second, and third place will be presented in each of several age groups, and all children will receive a participation award. courtesy of lynn oravitz

St. Stephen youth make GIFT posters

Youth at St. Stephen Parish in Chattanooga used the theme, “Giving Is . . .,” to make this poster, among others, for the diocesan Growing in Faith Together campaign. courtesy of jim hartz