A Legacy of Faith, Hope & Love

A Campaign for Future Generations

For more than 180 years, the Diocese of Nashville has served the spiritual needs of Catholics in Middle Tennessee. We have been truly blessed with dedicated priests, deacons, school administrators and parishioners who exhibit the character and heart of Christ and work to build His Kingdom. 

Our Catholic population is continually growing and becoming more diverse, fueled by the Nashville area’s flourishing economy and expansion. Our diocese is at a pivotal time in its long history, and the extraordinary growth in Middle Tennessee presents many new opportunities. 

Through careful study and strategic planning, the diocese has identified priorities that will strengthen our parishes and vocations, and increase accessibility to our churches, schools and social services. The theme that emerged from this thorough planning will now stand as our campaign theme as we look to impact our faith community for generations to come: A Legacy of Faith, Hope and Love. 

Campaign Priorities

The diocesan vision to empower A Legacy of Faith, Hope and Love combines bolstering current endowments and providing immediate funding for urgent projects at our parishes. Resources gathered through this campaign will provide long-term, sustainable funding to five key areas:

  • Catholic Education
  • Parish Share Priorities
  • Priestly Vocations
  • Parish Growth and Expansion
  • Helping Our Neighbors in Need

The Legacy Campaign and Saint Matthew Catholic Church

Our hope at Saint Matthew Catholic Church is to offer everyone in our community a place to deepen their Catholic faith. Our parishioners, ministry leaders, and dedicated staff members strive to make our parish campus a place of acceptance and belonging, guided by the hope that all can find their home here.

We are always working together as one family of faith to advance the mission of our Church. And we hope that, as a parish, we can unite again to meet the physical campus needs generated by our growth. This campaign gives us an opportunity to enhance and preserve our shared home, as well as contribute to important diocesan ministries.

Saint Matthew’s goal in the Legacy campaign is $1,846,698. To date, we have raised $1,753,660 toward that goal.

A portion of the funds raised during the Legacy campaign will be returned to meet the immediate needs of our community. Plans are being finalized to use these funds to address the following projects, allowing us to better serve our parish families – now and for years to come.

Parish Share Priorities

Construction on our beautiful church ended in 1992. While many of the features have stood the test of time, the nearly-30-year-old lighting system needs an upgrade. Your gift to the campaign will allow us to replace the current system with one that works more efficiently. We will also be able to add lighting to accentuate certain features of our church, including our new statuary.

As advancements in technology continue to evolve, our need for upgraded audio-visual equipment on our campus has evolved as well. Using the funds raised through the Legacy campaign, we will be able to add retractable screens, projectors and new audio equipment in the church and the gymnasium, allowing us to expand programming and other capabilities for both the church and school.

Our parish continues to grow. So, too, does our list of ministry offerings and social groups. To respond to this growth, we need to create more meeting spaces on our campus to accommodate the increasing number of offerings in our parish. Your gift will help us turn our church kitchen into a new meeting space that is available for all of our parishioners to use.

The needs of our church are ever-changing. Continued growth and expansion require us to be prepared to respond to these new needs as they arise. The remaining funds raised from this campaign will build up our reserves, allowing us to make future upgrades and enhancements to our facilities. In turn, we can better serve our community and continue to serve as a place to deepen our Catholic faith together.

Ways to Give

There are many ways to give that both meet your needs and support the Diocese of Nashville. The most common way to support the campaign is through a three-year pledge. Pledges are commitments made in good faith but are not legally binding. Pledge commitments can be fulfilled through monthly, quarterly, semi-annual or annual installments over the three-year pledge period. We encourage all donors to consider a 10-20 percent initial payment.

You may receive a call from a volunteer requesting a visit or call with you, or you may receive a pledge card and return envelope. If you are meeting with a volunteer, you can submit your pledge card to them during your visit. If you received a pledge card in your campaign packet, please submit the completed envelope to the church office. You can also drop your completed pledge card in the collection basket after any of the Masses.

If you have questions about gifts of stocks, bonds or mutual funds, or if you would like to discuss planned giving options, contact Ashley Linville, Director of Development for the Diocese of Nashville, at ashley.linville@dioceseofnashville.com.

Thank you for your participation and prayers!

If you have any questions, please contact Martin Strobel, Director of Communications and Stewardship.

EMAIL: mstrobel@stmatthewtn.org

PHONE: (615) 550-5101