The Catholic Church in Eastern Washington boasts a proud history of service and sacrifice for the sake of the Kingdom of God. Over the years, our local Church has grown into a dynamic community of Christians. This growth has been achieved by the heroic efforts of religious women, the dedication of religious and diocesan priests, and the support and prayers of faithful laypeople. We are thankful to God for the many blessings our diocesan church has received through the labor of those who came before us. With limited resources and unlimited vision, they cooperated with God's grace to educate the young, protect the sanctity of human life, defend the poor, and spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ to people hungry for the truth. Today our diocesan family is made up of over 70,000 Catholics worshipping in 78 parishes and missions throughout 24,356 square miles of the Inland Empire.

Building upon our rich heritage, we seek to ensure our ability to serve future generations. With the faith of those who have gone before us, we can unite our efforts to continue to meet the needs of our growing Church. We now open a new chapter in the history of our local Church by embarking on a campaign to ensure that these needs will be met. This campaign is called Here I am Lord, send me and is an effort to raise $10,000,000 to address the following needs of the Catholic Church in Eastern Washington:

* Fund the Endowment for the Education of our Seminarians

* Operating expenses of the seminarian program

* Construction of a new Bishop White Seminary

* Support our Annual Catholic Appeal for the year 2004