The following letters to the editor appear in the edition of Jan. 22, 2004. Letters appearing in this space do not necessarily reflect the views of the Arlington Catholic Herald or the Catholic Diocese of Arlington. The editor reserves the right to edit letters as necessary. There is no guarantee of publication. Send letters to: letters@catholicherald.com.

Renewal of Vows

Why not renew those vows! I refer to Elizabeth Foss’ column, "Living Vows" (ACH 1/8/04). I could not help think of the marriage renewal programs that my husband and I have been to over the past 9 years, when I read the "flu" column. And as we continue on the salvation journey that we are promised in this vocation of marriage, I look forward to another opportunity to draw on those graces on Feb. 14 at Our Lady of Angels in Woodbridge. The day starts with Mass, offers enriching talks, lunch and the renewal. And for those with children, there is a Lenten program running alongside the renewal. If the children have as good a time as they did last year learning about living Lent in a family, we are really off to a good start for a grace-filled Lent.

Registration is required. For more information please e-mail Feb14atOLA@aol.com or call Kathy Chada at 703/680-1038.

Helen M. Donovan
Alexandria

A Trillion Dollar Business

As a professional direct mail copywriter, I would like to address some of the issues that Seltman brought up concerning religious organizations using mail to solicit donations (ACH 1/15/04).

While so much mail can be confusing and frustrating, Catholic organizations send solicitations through the mail (known as direct mail marketing) for one major reason: it works.

Many envelopes will contain "freebies" so that the prospective donors will feel like they’re getting something extra (called a premium) for their donation. And yes, you may get the same appeal mailed to you several times. Why? Because the donor who isn’t able or ready to donate today, may be ready tomorrow — literally. Plus it’s a good idea to keep reminding potential donors that your organization is out there and in need of funds. As annoying as these methods may be to some people, they work for many others.

People donate for a variety of reasons: they support a particular organization, they feel like they’re making a difference, they want to get involved and a donation may be all that they can do at the moment, or they may be looking for a tax write-off and some fortunate organization is going to reap a windfall, but only if they have the attention of the donor.

No one expects you to give money to every religious organization that sends you a solicitation letter, but you can always take out the "freebie" and give it to your neighbors or to your parish. And of course, everyone has the option to do what direct marketers hate to hear: throw the mail away.

Direct mail is a trillion-dollar business. I think it is perfectly appropriate for Catholic organizations to compete for the money that people send in the mail for such "necessities" as steak knives and abdominal exercise machines. Who knows, it may even lead some wayward souls to heaven.

Mark A. Kwasny
Ashburn

Legislative Agenda

Thank you very much for your thoughtful presentation of the 2004 LegislativeAgenda (ACH 1/15/04). The format was very clear and provided a great deal of information about each of the issues highlighted. Also, it was very good to see quotations from the bishops’ document, "Faithful Citizenship" and the Catechism. The presentation is a rich resource that will be useful to many.

Diann Sherwin
Fairfax

Legislators Ommitted

I read your article on the Diocese's Legislative Agenda for the Virginia General Assembly and was very surprised to see that you omitted two Republican members (Ken Cuccinelli - 37th District; and Jay O'Brien - 39th District) and one Republican member of the House of Delegates (Tim Hugo - 40th District) from the list of members representing portions of the Arlington Diocese. All these members were elected in 2002 and re-elected in November 2003.

This is all the more surprising because you were able to correctly list several of the new Democratic members of the House of Delegates (e.g., Mark Sickles - 43rd District, Albert Eisenberg - 47th District, and Adam Ebbin - 49th District); all of whom were elected this past November.

The Republican members you omitted are strongly pro-life, while all the new Democrats are strongly pro-abortion. It is solely because of the election of Cuccinelli and O'Brien that we now have a ban on partial birth abortion in Virginia, which was enacted over the veto of Democratic Governor Mark Warner.

The men you omitted (as well as their families) make substantial sacrifices to serve in the Virginia General Assembly and promote the pro-life cause, a cause the Holy Father says takes precedence over all other social issues or causes. It's clear from your list of members which side of the political aisle you're listening to. If you want to de-emphasize the pro-life agenda in order to curry Democratic votes for welfare and other social programs, why not be forthright about it and say so?

Terry Wear
Respect Life Coordinator
Holy Spirit Parish
Annandale

Copyright ©2004 Arlington Catholic Herald.  All rights reserved.