Stella Sysko, will enter kindergarten at Father Marquette Catholic Academy in Marquette, uses technology ranging from modern laptops to old school pencils and paper. Legacy of Faith grants empower Catholic schools, parishes and Catholic Social services to respond to the changing needs of the people they serve. (Photo courtesy of the Diocese of Marquette)

From the Diocese of Marquette

MARQUETTE — Legacy of Faith has been awarding grants to Catholic parishes, schools and social services since 2002. The latest round of grants approved for 2020-2021 mark the endowment fund’s 20th year of grant making.

Recently, 62 grants were approved totaling more than $275,000 to Upper Peninsula initiatives that will benefit Catholic schools, social services and parish faith formation in 2020-2021. Catholic parishes, missions, Catholic schools and Catholic Social Services of the Upper Peninsula are the recipient organizations.

“We never envisioned grant making during a global pandemic, when our diocese has just begun the second phase of reopening by resuming the public celebration of Mass. But these times do make us ever more grateful for the stability the endowment brings to Catholic education and ongoing faith formation offerings, and for the people who have supported Legacy of Faith with donations,” fund Director Terri Gadzinski said.

Over $3.7 million in Legacy of Faith grants has been distributed over the last 20 years to foster the Catholic faith in the U.P.

The 2020-2021 grant approvals were made with an awareness that people will still need to observe social distance precautions for some time.

“It is expected that all parishes, Catholic Schools and organizations receiving Legacy of Faith grant funds for 2020-2021 will adhere to all applicable directives at the time the grant-funded program occurs,” wrote Most Reverend John F. Doerfler, Bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Marquette, in a letter that accompanied all recent grant approvals.

The Legacy of Faith fund, held by the UP Catholic Foundation, was founded in 2001 by Bishop James Garland.

In addition to Garland, two succeeding bishops have also led the fund: Archbishop Alexander K. Sample, now archbishop of Portland, Oregon, and presently now Doerfler.

The fund’s Advisory Committee and Faith Formation Grant Review Committee submitted recommendations to Doerfler.

In accordance with Legacy of Faith endowment guidelines, half of the available grant funds support Catholic schools, 30% parish faith formation, 10% Catholic Social Services of the U.P. and 10% Catholic Action Fund, which supports new and emerging programs and ministries.

Highlights from the recent grant approved include initiatives in: evangelization, Catholic Social Services, youth education, adult continuing education and technology.

With evangelization, fiscal year 2020-2021 is the final year of four years for the implementation of evangelization plans that parishes submitted to the diocese in 2017. In this final year of plan implementation, special consideration was given to grant requests to achieve parish-specific evangelization goals.

This past year, Doerfler asked all parishes to consider incorporating into their evangelization plans ways to reach the religiously unaffiliated.

Catholic Social Services provides help for people across the Upper Peninsula from Marquette, Iron Mountain and Escanaba. Legacy of Faith provides a $30,216 distribution for services this year.

Regarding youth education, all Catholic schools in the diocese receive a grant each year from the Legacy of Faith Fund. Over $151,000 will be awarded to eight schools throughout the U.P. In addition, Legacy of Faith supports a variety of youth programming including Totus Tuus for Grades K-12 and Steubenville Youth Conference.

New this year, Legacy of Faith is supporting Youth Encounter 906, a diocese-wide movement that reaches primarily young people between the ages of 16-20, and St. Augustine Catholic Homeschool Co-op in Chassell.

Grants for adult education support continuing Catholic education for young adults participating in Campus Ministry, as well as adult programming in parishes such as scripture study and a variety of new books and media.

A popular parish program is FORMED, a video-based education tool that can be used by parishioners for at-home learning as well as for small group learning in the parishes and parishioner’s homes.

This year’s technology grants include support for a variety of technology upgrades to improve access to, and participation in, quality faith offerings.

Grants will support enhancements to parish web sites, livestreaming capabilities and more. St. Ignatius Loyola Parish in Houghton is planning to purchase a short-throw projector that will deliver a large, vivid image on a wall or screen, which it will use for multi-week courses, single evening events and educational seminars available on the internet.

The local St. Peter Cathedral Vicariate will receive these amounts:

≤ 2020-21 unrestricted, $18 ,728.11;

≤ Catholic Campus Ministry Peer Ministry Initiative, $4,000, Northern Michigan University Campus Ministry;

≤ “Presence: The Mystery of the Eucharist, $150, and Symbolon, $299.95, Our Lady of Perpetual Help, Palmer;

≤ FORMED, St. Anthony, Gwinn, $550;

≤ FORMED and Dynamic Catholic, St. Christopher, Marquette, $975;

≤ Mystery Path and 20 Mysteries card game, $275 and Youth Encounter, St. John the Evangelist, Ishpeming, $3,500;

≤ parish library, $600, and livestreaming on website, $900, St Joseph, Ishpeming;

≤ parish mission, $1,000, St. Michael, Marquette;

≤ “Presence: The Mystery of the Eucharist, $150, and Symbolon, $299.95, St. Paul, Negaunee; and

≤ Magnifikid, $100, and FORMED, $1,500, St. Peter Cathedral, Marquette.