Angela Felebrico, shown here with her husband, Aaron, is a Brew City Catholic college campus minister for the Archdiocese of Milwaukee. (Submitted photo)
For Angela Felebrico and Dcn. Tom Hunt, the annual Catholic Stewardship Appeal is personal.
They’ve experienced its impact firsthand in their lives in ministry, and know many who have been helped directly as well. The $8.1 million appeal kicked off Feb. 3-4 with the message, “Your Gift Does God’s Work.”
Felebrico said she fell into despair after arriving at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee several years ago. “I wasn’t sure if life was worth living at all.”
Then she discovered the Panther Catholic Newman Center, one of many ministries funded by the appeal.
“It wasn’t until I started coming to this campus ministry center that I found a community of people who really understood that life was meant to be lived to the full — with joy, with purpose — and you only get that purpose and joy truly by living a life with Christ,” Felebrico said. “Having this community changed the entire course of my life.”
Today, Felebrico herself is a second-year member of the Brew City Catholic campus missionary team for the Archdiocese of Milwaukee.
“Praise God for a center like this to remind students, ‘You have a home here. You are loved here.’ God has always been with them, and he always will be,” she said. “This is sustaining our faith and making sure it is passed down for generations to come.”
At the Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist, Dcn. Hunt coordinates a ministry called Doing Time Together, a support group for people who have family members in prison. Ordained in 2000, he is one of 128 active deacons in the archdiocese serving in parishes and in the community.
“You know, you go to church, and you hear, ‘Let’s pray for the incarcerated’ and then all of a sudden, it’s you,” said one mom who has attended Doing Time Together for about five years. “To find out that this ministry was there all along, serving others, is a great comfort.”
“Your gift reflects your commitment to furthering God’s work, enabling us to serve those in need, train future leaders of the Church, support religious education for young people and strengthen parish ministries,” Archbishop Jerome E. Listecki said. “It’s about making a difference in the lives of others and being an integral part of our faith community that shares the values of love, compassion and hope.”
The 2023 Catholic Stewardship Appeal met its goal of raising $8.1 million. Find out more about this year’s campaign or give here: https://www.archmil.org/2024-Catholic-Stewardship-Appeal.htm
