By Msgr. Jamie Gigantiello, diocesan vicar for development

St. Margaret’s parish in Middle Village, under the stewardship of Msgr. Steven Aguggia, entered into the Generations of Faith campaign as a pilot parish. Just over one year ago, the parish completed its active fundraising and moved on to the next step of collecting the pledges.

Now, it has received funds back from the campaign and is completing its main Generations of Faith project.

As was the case with many parishes delving into the initial phase of the campaign, Msgr. Aguggia said they “were a little nervous, because (the campaign) hadn’t been tested yet. Although my team and I knew that our parishioners are always generous, we weren’t sure how this particular campaign would resonate with people. But as soon as we began, we saw the goals of the diocese and the goals of the parish were important to our people and they responded right away, and very generously.”

From the planning stages, St. Margaret’s case for support was focused on replacing the pews in the Church.
“The old pews were literally falling apart and showing wear and tear, despite having been refurbished about 20 years ago,” said the pastor. “We were constantly fixing the kneelers and even holding up some pews with blocks of wood. I begged people not to look too hard at what they were sitting on!”

The replacement of these pews will create “a more comfortable and more beautiful worship environment for our people,” Msgr. Aguggia said. “When the project began, I knew that St. Margaret’s people always pulled together to support various efforts, but this experience has shown me just how much they do that! I have a renewed sense of community.
“When they see that the work has taken place, they are excited about the newly refurbished church. They appreciate the work that is being done and the fact that their pledges have been put to work already, just one year out of the campaign!”

Msgr. Aguggia applauded his generous and gracious parishioners and their reaction to the projects.
He added that he “was happy to be able to speak to people directly,” and “the overwhelmingly generous response of the people,” has been most gratifying.

He continued, “I knew they were generous, but I was taken aback by how quickly they responded. It showed the love they have for the Church and their parish.”