A gift that gives back:

Charitable gift annuity

		Stewardship  Corner  Jay Conzemius

In times of lower interest rates, gift annuity payments can be a way to generate more useable income than you now receive from your investments.

In addition to interest earned on your annuity funds, gift annuity payments include a return over time of a portion of the amount used to fund your annuity, thereby resulting in higher total payments than you might otherwise enjoy.

A charitable gift annuity agreement with the Diocese of Madison is a great way to make a gift to your parish, parish school, diocese, or other bishop-approved Catholic institution.

Setting up annuity

Here's how someone can set up a charitable gift annuity:

1) You transfer an asset (usually cash or securities) to the Diocese of Madison.

2) The Diocese of Madison gives you a signed agreement guaranteeing specific payments each year to you (and/or a person you designate) for life.

3) At the end of the contract, the residual gift goes in to the diocese's general fund where it will be used to support Christ's work through our Diocese (and yes, you may restrict that support to benefit your parish, a Catholic school, or other ministry such as St. Martin House or Centro Guadalupano in our Diocese).

An example

I cannot give tax or legal advice, but as a way to educate everyone on the benefits of charitable gift annuities, I would like to share an example of how entering into a charitable gift annuity agreement could be beneficial.

Eleanor, who is 75, gives $10,000 to enter into a charitable gift annuity with the diocese that will benefit her parish. In return for making this gift, Eleanor has a charitable gift deduction that she can use to reduce her taxes by $3,731.

In addition, the diocese will pay Eleanor $790 each year for the rest of her life ($505.60 of the $790 is considered a tax-free payment, since it is return of principal). The rate of interest earned is 7.9 percent, ($10,000 * 7.9 percent) but the effective rate of interest is 11.5 percent because part of the payments are tax-free.

I'll bet you didn't know that being a good steward can also mean reducing your taxes and receiving a life-time income as well as helping your favorite Catholic institution.

Jay Conzemius is director of stewardship and development for the Diocese of Madison. For further information on charitable gift annuities, contact him at 608-821-3040.

Bringing his light to the darkness:

Making a difference in missions

		Propagation  of the Faith  Msgr. Delbert  Schmelzer

"The light shines in the darkness and the darkness has not overcome it" (John 1:5).

Eyewitnesses at the scene when the World Trade Center towers were attacked this past Sept. 11 talked about the incredible darkness that descended upon them -- a darkness so black that you couldn't even see your hand in front of you.

Survivors spoke also of how bleak it was to try to walk in the darkness, fearing those around them, doubting their own selves, knowing nothing but the darkness that surrounded them in an eerie silence.

Then gradually the light returned and the people began calling out to each other, seeing the extraordinary devastation around them but being grateful to be alive. The people regained their determination along with the return of the light and set out to help those less fortunate than themselves.

Light of Christ

"My eyes have seen your salvation, which you have prepared in the sight of all the peoples, a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and the glory of your people Israel" (Luke 2:30-32).

Upon seeing the infant Jesus, Simeon made this prophecy of the light that Jesus would bring to all peoples and nations. Throughout the missions today, there are priests, religious sisters and brothers, and lay people who continue to bring the light of Christ to a world all too often immersed in seemingly impenetrable darkness.

In a slum in Nairobi in Kenya, some 50,000 street children between the ages of six and 16 live in holes in the ground; their roof: a sheet of plastic. These children are a second generation of street dwellers, abandoned by mothers who themselves are survivors of the streets.

Lay catechists in the area are trying to change all that. With help through the Propagation of the Faith, they have opened a house and school for these youngsters, providing them with food and safety -- and through their loving witness, revealing the light of Christ to the darkness of their world.

Serving others

In Indonesia, Fr. Francisco Noerjanto travels by boat or motorcycle to serve the men, women, and children in 21 faraway mission stations. He finds in these people "a simplicity in their guilelessness, their oneness with nature." He sees in them too "the love of God whose love is truly realized in the simplicity of their lives."

In addition to praying constantly for the people he serves, Fr. Noerjanto offers prayers also for those who help the Propagation of the Faith. "Without your assistance I could not have completed my seminary training," he said. "You have enabled me to bring the love and hope of the Lord to the poorest. And I, in turn, have received a spiritual wealth from the powerful faith of these people."

Boy soldiers

It is said that many young boys in Sierra Leone have "old men's faces on children's bodies." All too often such innocent children have been torn from their helpless families or have been rounded up with other orphans and forced to become soldiers -- and killers.

One such boy is Alusine Kamara. Although he says he is 14 years old, the sisters who care for him say that he cannot be more than 10 or 11. Grabbed on his way home from visiting his aunt, Alusine, under the threat of being killed himself, is one of more than 5,000 children forced to carry out killings in Sierra Leone's decade-long civil war.

Fr. Theo Momoh, who has been looking after these children since 1993, says: "Without your help we would not be able to rehabilitate any of these boy soldiers. They don't know any other way of life and have become accustomed to getting their way by force."

Alusine says that every night he prays "that God will forgive me and help me to forget everything some day." Agnes Dawoh, who looks after a group of these children, adds: "They pray with great fervor and know that the Lord is more powerful than a loaded gun, for He can give them the peace they so desperately need."

Many of these children are also comforted and cared for by the Sisters of Our Lady of the Visitation, a local religious community that offers medical help and reaches out with the compassion and love of Jesus.

Reveal love to missions

God so loved the world that He sent His only Son, Jesus, so that all who believe in Him might live. This Christmas, as we celebrate the miracle of God's love, won't you be a part of revealing His love in the missions? Won't you offer your Christmas gift through the Propagation of the Faith to support the work of bringing the light of Christ to the darkness found in so many places throughout the missions -- and make a real difference for the suffering poor?

This Christmas too let us join in prayer with Catholics worldwide in gratitude for the most precious gift we will ever receive -- our faith. Let us ask the Lord also to bring His light -- and His peace -- to our world so in need of Him.

Thank you and may the Lord grant you and those you love many blessings at Christmas.

Msgr. Delbert Schmelzer is director of the Propagation of the Faith for the Diocese of Madison. Contributions to the Propagation of the Faith may be sent to: Msgr. Delbert Schmelzer, P.O. Box 44983, Madison, WI 53744-4983.