Worthy Officers, DDs, GKs, FNs, and Brothers (and Rev. Bishop Burns and Fathers Mark, Zach, Vincent, Luca, Alan, Joseph and Michal):
Happy New Year!
Before getting to my RSVP report, I’m happy to announce that two of our seminarians (Jeremy Maness and Nicholas Weiss) were ordained as transitional deacons by Bishop Burns on December 20. God willing, Deacons Jeremy and Nicholas will be ordained to the priesthood this spring!
In anticipation of our mid-year meeting on Saturday, January 10, I am attaching my FOURTH set of RSVP reports for this fraternal year concerning our Diocesan RSVP Program for seminarian support.
District Deputies, please check with your Councils to be sure someone is receiving these reports. If I need to add (or remove) someone from my mailing list – please let me know!!
As a reminder, our Diocesan goal is to provide each of our Diocesan seminarians with at least 4 sponsors of $500.00 each! We have 47 seminarians in formation for the Dallas Diocese this year (3 of them are new, 1 is returning to the seminary). Our secondary goal is to get all of these men at least one $500 check by October 1, and a second $500 check by January 31.
At the half-way point of the fraternal year, I have heard from 37 Councils, 6 Assemblies, and 1 Squire Circle. 201 sponsorships have been pledged (that’s $100,500), and 174 ($87,000) have already been funded! Outstanding work!
All of our seminarians have at least three (3) sponsors pledged, and all them have already received at least two (2) checks. We have 6 seminarians that already have 5 or more. They are highlighted in RED in the attached reports and are OFF LIMITS for further support (for now). We have 32 seminarians who have 4 sponsorships pledged. They are highlighted in ROSE in the attached reports and are also OFF LIMITS for now. We have 9 seminarians who only have 3 sponsorships pledged – they are highlighted in ORANGE in the attached reports. Let’s get those men some additional support.
We have two districts (107 and 116) that have all Councils participating in the RSVP program.
There are several Councils and Assemblies that typically participate in the program that I’ve not yet heard from. They are listed below, by District, with the number of sponsorships they provided last year:
District 103 Council 16546 (1)
District 106 Council 11169 (3)
District 109 Council 8157 (5)
District 110 Council 5656 (3)
District 111 Council 13044 (2)
District 113 Council 13068 (1)
District 114 Councils 9903 (2), 12153 (2)
District 115 Councils 5243 (1), 10523 (1)
District 117 Councils 1289 (1), 10879 (1), 16047 (1)
District 118 Councils 5211 (1), 12964 (2)
Assemblies: 2506 (2), 3876 (1)
If your Council or Assembly is on this list, please let me know if you plan to participate in the program this year!
The process of supporting a seminarian is simple:
First, identify the seminarian(s) your Council or Assembly would like to support (and let me know which seminarians you plan to support). At this point in the year, please focus on the men who are highlighted in ORANGE on the attached reports.
Second, issue checks in the amount of $500.00 to your seminarian(s). Mail the checks to:
Father Zach Webb
Director of Seminarians
3725 Blackburn
Dallas, Texas 75219
Send me copies of the checks.
Third, once the check has cleared your bank, complete Form 2863 (to which you must attach a copy of the canceled check, front and back) and submit it to Supreme.
Fourth, collect your $100.00 refund for every check you write.
The first report attached to this email is the current list of Diocesan seminarians for this fraternal year. It also shows which Councils/Assemblies supported these men last year, and identifies our 3 new seminarians with the word NEW and our returning seminarian with “Resuming “Formation”. It also includes the seminarians in formation outside of our Diocese that are being supported by Councils or Assemblies this year.
The second report attached to this email summarizes how we are doing as a Diocese. As noted above, we’re off to a strong start for this fraternal year.
The third report attached to this email is organized by District (for Councils), Assemblies and Squire Circles. If you want to see how your particular Council, Assembly or Circle is doing, this is the place to look. It is also the place to check to be sure that your plans have been communicated to yours truly.
If anyone prefers to receive these reports in their native Excel form, send me an email and I’ll send them along.
Let’s continue another great year supporting our Future Priests!
Vivat Jesus!! Viva Cristo Rey!!
SK John J. Little, PGK
RSVP Chairman
Dallas Diocese Chapter
8150 N. Central Expressway, 10th Floor
Dallas, Texas 75206
(214) 573-2307
(214) 394-8658 (cell)
john@johnjlittlelaw.com