Campaign for support from the Oslo Catholic diocese to St. Johannes Congregation in Groruddalen

Dear Parishioners, believers and friends,

It is now 1 year since the establishment of St. Johannes Apostel og Evangelilst Church. The church was founded by Bishop Bernt Eidsvig Can. Reg, Bishop of The Oslo Diocese on the 15th of march 2013 and was solemnly inaugurated at the Pontifical Mass on the 9th of May, the As-cension Thursday, the same year.

The Parish has grown tremendously. The Church pews are full and more are being added. In the course of 6 months it has been necessary to expand the church and open the partition doors to the church hall to accommodate all the visitors on Sundays. Dear believers and friends, without your help, generosity, and prayers we would not have come so far in such a short time. This generosity and devotion has been a powerful force in our multi-cultural con-gregation which is an honor to God’s Church through Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior.

We have been in dialogue with the diocese regarding our financial situation. We know that it costs 1,1 million annually to rent the church, but our long term plan is to purchase it. This is necessary so that we will have enough room for mass and all our activities where our Catholic faith can be represented and developed by the call of the Gospel. I would like to announce to everyone that during this month we will start a campaign for «avtalegiro».

The campaign is supported by the Catholic Diocese:

For every kroner that is given, The Oslo Catholic Diocese will give 1 kroner extra. For example if you donate kr. 100,00 a month, will your total donation for the year be 1.200,- which is a gift to St. Johannes. In addition the Diocese will give the same amount to the Parish. The total will equal kr. 2400,- . You will also be credited 28% of your donation from the Government. St. Johannes will still receive 100% of what you donate. See the attached document for more explanation.

I would like to encourage as many as possible to participate in this campaign which will be a win-win situation for all parties. Even if is just a small amount every month that we all give, it will be an enormous sum for our Parish. Having a fixed income from these donations will be a significant help to manage our economy and run the Parish.

In addition to the rental fee of 1,1 million of the Church, there are also other expenses like elec-tricity, waste management, salary for the staff, insurance, and varies other expenses.

«Avtalegiroblanketter» are available in the foyer which already have St. Johannes printed on the form. Please fill out the form and return it to a priest or you can send it directly to the Os-lo Diocese. If you need help feeling out the form please contact p. Phu or the Parish Secre-tary.

I ask that all members give a little so that we will be strong in our community. Thank you for your attention and generosity and benevolence.

I Kristus,

P. Dominikus Nguyen Thanh Phu