By Msgr. Noel Burtenshaw

Chancery Office, we call it. And the title means the central office of the local church. It is the Bishop’s Office. It is the office of the Diocese. It is the very hub of all local church administration.

But it is more. The Chancery is the pastoral office because the chief pastor, the Bishop, guides and serves his people from that pivotal point.

“The Bishop has many aids to help him in that service,” said Monsignor Jerry Hardy, chancellor of the Archdiocese of Atlanta, “and one of those aids at this time of the year is the Archdiocese Charities Drive.”

To us, it is an annual one-day cash drive which supports the work of the Church. To the Archbishop, it is a vital aid helping him serve the people of North Georgia.

“Our Archdiocese varies so much,” said Monsignor Hardy. “The explosion continues in metro-Atlanta. We open parishes almost every year. We constantly dedicate new churches and centers and there seems to be no end to it. But we can’t forget the Georgia Missions. Outside metro-Atlanta, in the fifteen – or – so thousand square miles of rural territory, we are still only two percent Catholic. That percentage is worse than many foreign mission lands.”

So both apostolates are very visible: the needs of an exploding Catholic population in the metropolitan area and the survival needs of the missionary, rural Church.

“In the Atlanta area, the Drive helps us plan ahead,” said the Chancellor. “We purchase land for new parish sites and that is most helpful when the new parish community is finally formed. The Drive also makes possible low-interest loans for building phases and beginning phases of parishes.

But the Drive goes into rural areas too. “It is very much present to rural apostolates,” said Monsignor Hardy. “It funds the Family Religious Education teams whose work goes into many areas and also the “no-interest” grants so often needed in smaller parishes. It is really a great pastoral help out in the country.”

This once-a-year fund drive, now in its twelfth year, is seen by Archbishop Donnellan and his staff as an arm of assistance to many needy apostolates. “A good example,” said Chancellor Hardy, “is the resettlement house we purchased on Third Street. It is a sort of half-way house for those refugees finding their feet in the community. Very often they begin in that house before braving it alone in their new country. The Charities Drive does it for them too.”

And the work goes on. Last year the goal was $550,000. This year $625,000 is the goal. “Our people in the parishes show amazing generosity,” said Monsignor Hardy. “Thank God for them. We all benefit, but most especially our needy projects and the lives of our needy brothers and sisters. This annual Drive is one great pastoral arm of the Church in North Georgia.”

We have just one month to prepare. March 1 is Drive Sunday.