Editor's Note   Help carrying the load By Darcy L. Fargo

September 16, 2026

I needed help.
I was in the gym attempting a heavy (for me) lift. The same weight had moved pretty easily for several repetitions another day, so I didn’t think I needed a safety spotter.

The first time I lowered the weight and pushed it back up, it moved slowly, and the lift felt harder than I expected. Not one to think things through, I still went for another attempt.

I got the weight down to my chest and started to push it up. Despite summoning all my strength, the bar wasn’t moving.

My brain started racing, trying to figure out how to escape being crushed by the barbell. Just as I was preparing to attempt to raise one hand higher than the other to dump the weights off the bar, a gym regular – a man I had never spoken to – grabbed the bar, got it off my chest and put it back on the rack where it started.

I started thanking him profusely for watching out for me and for helping.

“We’re all in this together,” he responded. “We’re all just trying to be the strongest or healthiest we can be, and it’s easier if we do it together.”

I thought of that as I reflected on the importance of the Bishop’s Fund Appeal.

We’re all in this – this effort to follow Christ and allow Him to give us eternal life – together. We’re truly One Church, One Mission.

We’re all called to share in Jesus’ ministry and to reflect His love, drawing others to Him. Sometimes we participate directly in ministries and evangelization. But there are also ministries in which we may not be able to participate directly, but that we recognize are vital. For example, I’m certainly not qualified to serve as a seminary instructor, but I know we need men to attend seminary and follow God’s call to the priesthood. And I’m not able to spend five weeks in the summer working at Camp Guggenheim, but I know we need to give our youth meaningful opportunities to encounter Christ and form friendships centered on Him.

The Bishop’s Fund allows us to participate in those ministries. Recognizing – like the gym guy – that we’re all in this together, we can participate in the work of educating our seminarians and deacon candidates, educating and forming youth and adults, and serving those in dire need.

Please consider supporting this year’s Bishop’s Fund Appeal. If you’re unable to give financially, please support the effort with your prayers.

We all can help.