Bishop Annual Appeal 2025
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Pilgrims of Hope: Making an Impact Together
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Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
As we celebrate this Jubilee Year of Hope, our theme for this year’s Bishop’s Annual Appeal is “Pilgrims of Hope: Making an Impact Together”.
Each gift to our annual appeal has an impact on ministries and services throughout the nine counties of the Diocese of Kalamazoo and beyond.
In the next section, you will find inspiring stories of how your gifts and prayers are working to further the mission of the Catholic Church – helping fund the formation and education of our future and current priests, outreach efforts to those most in need through Catholic Charities, and the support of our 59 parishes and missions through our diocesan central services, resources and ministries
Your gift is more than a financial contribution; it is fuel for the mission of the Church, nourishing our people in faith, hope, and charity. I recognize we are still enduring challenging and uncertain economic times. Please know that each gift, no matter the size, makes a difference. On behalf of those who will benefit from your support, I extend a word of heartfelt thanks.
As Pope Francis said in the Papal Bull for the Jubilee Year, hope is the virtue that gives us purpose, “that our faith may be joyful and our charity enthusiastic”, and that small acts of kindness and friendship can be- come “rich seeds of hope”. May you find many opportunities to embrace our call to be Pilgrims of Hope as we plant these seeds of hope throughout this Jubilee Year. During this joyous Easter season, please know of my prayers of gratitude for you and for those whom you hold dear.
Faithfully yours in Christ,
The Most Reverend Edward M. Lohse, JCD Bishop of Kalamazoo
If you have any questions please contact the Bishop's Annual Appeal office at 269.903.0187 or [email protected]. -
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Making an Impact - Stories of Hope
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Through our Priests
Fr. Jack Pfeiffer, who was ordained on May 27, 2023, felt the call to the priesthood begin while he was still an undergraduate student at Michi gan State University. “One day, I got the sudden sense I needed to make a good confession,” he recalls. “That confession revealed the depths of God’s mercy to me so profoundly I began to want to center my entire life around Him.”
While it would take a few more years before he was ready to begin seminary, it was through the support of generous donations to the Bishop’s Annual Ap peal, which supports seminarian education, that he was even able to hope it was an option. Having just finished college he knew he had no way to fund his seminary education and formation.
And so it is through those generous donations he is now able to give a lifetime of service back to the diocese through his priesthood.
“By his very way of life, a holy priest teaches those around him that God is worth giving everything for,” he says. “A priest’s joyful acceptance of a life of sacrifice re news hope in Jesus’s promise that all who give up their lives for Him will receive not only an eternal reward, but also ‘a hundredfold’ even in this life.”
“Charitable giving is an expression of this same hope. We are called to have hope that God is never outdone in generosity. If we readily give what is ours to His Church, He repays us abundantly with grace.”
$60,000 – is on average the annual cost of seminarian education. Your gift helps secure the sacramental life of the Church and is an investment in the Priesthood. Shown above are current seminarians with Vocations Director, Father Jose Haro and Bishop Lohse.
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Fr. Jack Pfeiffer prepares to be ordained
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The sacramental work of our priests in a year:
929 — Baptisms
720 — First Communions
685— Confirmations
159— Total Marriages
117 — Received into full Communion
609— Mass of Christian Burial
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Through our Parishes
Many of the diocesan services, resources and ministries funded by the Bishop’s Annual Appeal serve those in our parishes. Together we make a greater impact than what our parishes and staff could do on their own. Tim McNamara, who works for two parishes, can attest to the many resources he uses from the diocese to complement his work.Tim works as the Director of Religious Education, Receptionist, and Bulletin Editor for St. Martin of Tours Parish in Vicksburg, as well as Director of Faith Formation for St. Philip Parish in Battle Creek.
Through his work as receptionist and bulletin editor, he finds value and support in the Communications office with bulletin updates, website support, Southwest Michigan Catholic – the diocesan magazine, and more. In his roles in faith formation and religious education, Tim utilizes the support team at the diocese with programs such as The Goretti Project – the new digital safety curriculum, and the Institute of Missionary Discipleship (IMD) – the online catechesis partnership between the Diocese of Kalamazoo and Franciscan University of Steubenville. In these online classes, which Tim encourages his catechists to utilize, he sees one sign of hope.
“On top of growing in our knowledge of our faith, the IMD material affords our catechists the opportunity to grow deeper in their relationship with Jesus, His Church, and truly, with one another, as we have been at- tacking this material together,” he says. “We see the fruits of these sessions in the classroom. As our catechists grow in their love for Jesus and their comfort with sharing their faith, they connect more with the class material and are able to pass that relationship on to their students (and parents), and it is noticeably strengthening our parish community.”
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- 18,000 — Southwest Michigan Catholic magazine circulation; published quarterly
- 68— websites for parishes and Catholic schools
- 90— number of professional development hours offered by the diocesan Office of Schools
- 240— Number of free faith courses offered through the Institute of Missionary Discipleship (IMD)
- 43— number of cases handled by the Tribunal Office in 2024
- Grant Funding Coordination from the Catholic Foundation of Southwestern Michigan helped secure: $123,000 — total additional funds provided by Catholic Extension for Parish and Diocesan-wide programs
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Tim McNamara uses diocesan resources for his work at both St. Martin of Tours Parish and St. Philip Parish
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Websites
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Through our Christian Service
Gifts to the annual appeal help support the work of Catholic Charities. Feeding the hungry. Helping young mothers in need. Providing shelter for youth. These are just a few of the ways Catholic Charities serves those in need each day.
It’s a sunny winter morning and the Bread of Life distribution center is bustling with energetic volunteers pack-ing the close to 100 boxes that will be distributed that week. Thanks to the tireless efforts close to 40,000 people were fed last year. These are families and individuals ac-ross Southwest Michigan who are experiencing food in-security are given non-perishable items from cereal to rice to canned fruits and vegetables. No one is turned away and there are no restrictions or income levels.
The boxes then travel to a distribution site such as St. Jerome Parish in Battle Creek. On this blustery winter day a line of cars forms waiting for volunteers to pack their cars with the boxed food.
Now in its fifth year, the program began in 2020 during the height of the pandemic when many were experiencing food insecurity for the first time. The need for the program continues and its outreach has grown to serve those throughout the nine counties of the diocese.
One young family lives in a rural area accessible only by a dirt road. Twice a month a dedicated volunteer makes the 45 minute drive rain or shine to deliver the boxes of food. Oftentimes he spends additional time talking and he says, more importantly, listening.
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38,000 — number of individuals served through Bread of Life
242 — households receiving emergency heating assistance
1,573— counseling sessions provided by Bridges Mental Health Services
420— participants in Caring Network’s childbirth, mama and parenting classes
3,517 — people fed through Catholic Community Center’s food bank
430— consultations through Immigration Assistance Program
104— youth housed for a total of 1,330 days at Ark Shelter for Youth
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St Ambrose Status
The Bishop's Annual Appeal 2025 kick-off started April 27, 2025.
St. Ambrose's goals are $65,990 and 100% participation.
As a parish, we are called to support the many people and ministries within our diocese. The impact of your gifts to the Bishop’s Annual Appeal are far reaching and fundamental to carrying on the mission of Christ and the Church. No donation is too small or too large.St Ambrose's progress as of May 15, 2025
Description Goal Current Status (%) No. Families Pledged 386
109 28.2% Amount Pledged $ 65,990
$69,674
105.6% Amount Received $ 65,990
$41,589
63.0%
Keep smiling—God loves a cheerful giver.
Thank You
God is good.
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