Dear Friend of Catholic Exchange,
Catholic Exchange is six years old and growing fast. Our shoes have holes in the soles, our socks are clean but they won't stay up, and our limbs need some muscle!
Major League
Thanks to all of you who have supported Catholic Exchange during this our Sixth Birthday Appeal. In six short years we've entered the major leagues of evangelization. Because of you we can boast one of the best Catholic websites in the world. (Well, okay the Vatican website is more important — but we have more pictures on ours). CatholicExchange.com gets over a million visits per month, and we receive a steady stream of "Thank You's!" from our viewers, with stories of marriages restored, family members brought back to the Sacraments, and new Catholics who have discovered and grown in the Faith thanks to the information they encounter on our website every day. Can you join our team of champions and help us continue to develop and expand this valuable Catholic media resource? It's secure and easy; just click here.
Champions All
We love Pope Benedict and recognize him as a true champion of the Faith. But when was the last time the Vatican produced a hit sports movie that proclaims the Catholic faith with the crack of the bat? As vital and indispensable as our clergy are, some things are the right and proper office of the laity. Last month, I was blessed to be able to show our new film, Champions of Faith: Baseball Edition, to an audience of over 70 bishops at the US Bishops' annual meeting. (What a privilege!) As the movie unspooled before that august audience, I was indescribably thankful that the Good Lord had allowed us to produce such a wonderful, faithful, entertaining, Catholic film. When the credits rolled these hardworking and often under-appreciated shepherds broke into the kind of impassioned applause that indicated to me that Catholic Exchange had produced a world-class evangelization tool, which will draw hearts of all ages to Jesus Christ, the source and summit of our faith. Bishop after bishop told me that his flock needs to see Champions of Faith and hear its message. I was overjoyed. But you should be thrilled because you helped make the project possible. You are Champions all! Do the wave!
New Bats Needed
Although Catholic Exchange is endorsed and praised by many bishops around the world, we receive no financial support from the Church. We are therefore hoping you can once again lend a hand to help us cover salaries, supplies, license fees, insurance — and replace a few broken bats in our arsenal. And while it is true that prayer is the most important thing you can do, please remember to pray for someone to send us money to pay the bills. Or you yourself could be the answer to those prayers!
If you have not yet made a contribution to our appeal, could you please click here and do so now? We still need an additional $80,000 this month so we can continue producing uniquely effective media with the strong but simple message that the Church is alive and offers the only answer to the world's hunger for truth and hope.
Gifts for You
Granted, the gifts bestowed by the Holy Spirit are a lot more important than what we can give you. But we're happy to give you something valuable anyway in exchange for your birthday offering. Please join our work with a gift of $50 or more, and we'll send you a special first-edition copy of the Champions of Faith DVD!
For anyone who gives $200 or more we will send you the best-selling Catholic book of the year, Pope Benedict XVI's Jesus of Nazareth, in which our Holy Father reaffirms the Church's faith in Christ as true God, true Man and our divine Redeemer. This new masterpiece of spiritual reflection is perfect summer reading for either the beach or the chapel.
My message is simple: We need your help now to continue our work of evangelization, work the laity definitely needs to be doing. If you've already helped us this year, could you click here and offer another gift at this time? If you have never given to Catholic Exchange, or if it's been a while, could you join us in our work for the Church? Thank you again for your generosity and your prayers.
Yours in JMJ — working to bring people home to the Church,
Tom Allen
Editor & President
