Calgary Catholics take part in "I am Blessed" campaign

1/17/2020

I am blessed.

That’s the message Catholics in the Diocese of Calgary recently shared in an effort to help each other do Christ’s work while simultaneously easing winter’s biting nip.

The message was the theme of what the Diocese called, The Blessed Test. Conceptualized by staff at the Catholic Pastoral Centre, the test was designed to promote a culture of gratitude and giving on days when the secular world seemed hell-bent on consumerism.

The strategic roll-out of the program was blessedly simple. To participate, the Diocese asked people to post a social media photo or video with the message, “I am blessed.” The post had to include a few details about why the person felt blessed, along with a message about how they will bless others with donations, acts of kindness or prayers. To optimize sharing, the campaign adopted the hashtag, #iamblessed.

The challenge was launched during the shopping frenzy of Black Friday, a U.S. tradition that has an increasingly large impact on Canadian consumer markets. The message was widely shared again on Cyber Monday. That was the Monday after Black Friday and the day before Advent 2019 began. Calls for more “I am blessed” messages were repeated on Boxing Day.

Within the first week of the campaign, more than 4,000 people viewed and shared the campaign video. Days after the first posts, Calgarians across the Diocese started to participate. Priests and parishioners of all ages, from students to grandparents, began posting pictures and “I am blessed” messages from across Southern Alberta.

Students in private and public Catholic Schools across the Diocese also joined the campaign. Secondary students at Clearwater Academy in Calgary posted a video of students pledging to bless others. At St. Monica School, also in Calgary, teachers sent “I am blessed” postcards to their students. “I liked that this postcard campaign linked to our faith,” says Jennifer Gakis, principal.

Catholics in all 68 of the Diocese’s parishes were encouraged to participate, with many gratefully posting #iamblessed pictures and videos in their own social media feeds. In the end, hundreds of #iamblessed postcards were shared throughout the Christmas season.

The campaign is also credited for a surge in financial gifts to the parishes. In two months, the campaign raised over $70,000 dollars in additional donations to parishes and diocesan programs. “We were seeing an increase in the number of online donations every week,” says Alejandro Henao, Executive Director at the Catholic Pastoral Centre. “We were seeing donations from people who had never given to our ministry before.”

“We were inspired by people’s generosity,” says Bishop McGrattan, who also participated in the social media campaign. “It showed how the gift of faith, which when expressed in acts of charity, kindness and mercy can transform our parishes and diocese.”