St. Catherine of Siena Parish

Good afternoon. I'm Marie. I'm Alex. We'd like to share with you why our family decided to make a pledge to the "Building our Future" campaign.

I'll begin with full disclosure: I didn't exactly follow the directions I was given for this - no surprises there. It was suggested that I talk about how I came to make the decision to pledge, perhaps share what obstacles I had to overcome. The truth is - the decision to *make* the pledge was easy. It was what I would call a "no brainer." The more difficult decision was how much to pledge.

When something goes wrong in my house, I don't wonder whether I should repair it. It's obvious that I should; I know bad things can happen if I don't. I tend to freak out about how I am going to get it repaired. She does. Can one of my friends help me? Do I need professional assistance? How do I find the right person? How much is it going to cost? It's an excruciating process. I know nothing about home repair; I live in fear of totally screwing it up.

This, St. Catherine's, is also my home. I didn't wonder whether I should help with the needed repairs. It was obvious to me that I should. Fortunately I don't have to freak out about how to get it repaired. That's good. Trust me. I don't have to worry about screwing it up, because there is a much-scrutinized, carefully-thought out, well-communicated plan in place to accomplish what needs to be done.

I was baptized here at St. Catherine's. My older sisters and I received the sacraments of First Communion and First Penance here. My sisters received Confirmation here. I want the church to be around so that I can be confirmed here. I feel that this is *my* home, too.

I joined St. Catherine's when I first moved here from Houston. A lot has happened in my life in those 21 years - most of it good, some of it not so much. St. Catherine's has been a constant in my life throughout. Almost all of my closest friendships have begun here. Those relationships have blossomed, and I feel that I have lifelong friends. Actually, more than friends; in many cases, more like family. I grew up far away from my extended family; my parents and I lived in another country. Technically, we were in another continent. Although most of my cousins and I are now in the same country, we still live far away from one another. Even the members of my birth family - I was adopted - live in another country. Little by little I've made a family for myself here.

Family, a sense of belonging - something that I don't often feel -community - those are some of the reasons I decided to make a pledge to the campaign. But the main reason is standing right here next to me. My daughter. Me! She is the future of this parish. And we are talking about building our future, aren't we? I want to make sure this church is still standing so that she can have a place to worship, a place to make a family for herself.

It took prayer and thought and time for me to answer the more difficult question of how much to pledge. That time of reflection allowed me to re-evaluate why this parish is important to me. Through that process, the question changed into: what is the most I can afford to pledge? I eventually arrived at a number that felt right for me. My challenge was - what am I being called to do? This is the question we each have to ask ourselves. What are you being called to do?

Go ahead. Make a pledge. For all the kids who are growing up here. It will make you feel good about yourself. It will make you feel good. Period.

My first version of this talk was to give you the top ten reasons to pledge to this campaign. I discarded that version, but I do want to leave you with what I came up with as the number one reason: if you don't make a pledge, if I don't make a pledge, who will?

I know one person who wants this church to go on, and that's Father Mahler!