The Catholic Rural Ministry of Oil City Deanery and Sisters Tina Geiger, RSM, and Marian Wehler, OSB, were recently featured on a national #iGiveCatholic webinar as one of ten outstanding ministries from the previous giving day invited to share the secrets to their success. #iGiveCatholic is the annual Catholic giving day taking place on Giving Tuesday, the Tuesday after Thanksgiving, each year. As the facilitator of #iGiveCatholic for the Diocese of Erie since 2019, the Catholic Foundation joins in celebrating the sisters’ success.
Their Catholic Rural Ministry has served the five counties encompassing the Oil City Deanery since 2007 providing spiritual enrichment for both youth and adults. They have participated in #iGiveCatholic since 2019, raising over $95,000 for their work. In 2025, they raised over $35,000, surpassing their initial goal of $30,000.
The national #iGiveCatholic office shares resources and best practices with each participating diocese and the Catholic ministries within each diocese. One of these resources is the Top Ten Webinar, where ten outstanding ministries from the previous giving day are invited to share the secrets to their success. This year, because of their #iGiveCatholic fundraising success, Sisters Tina and Marian were featured.
They were selected to be featured on the webinar for a few reasons. The sisters took advantage of the Advanced Giving stage of #iGiveCatholic, a two-week period to collect donations before the giving day. Additionally, they sought out and received not one, but two matching gift donations. “Because we know our donors, we thanked them at least three times during the campaign with very personalized thank yous. Thank yous make a big difference,” Sister Tina said. Lisa Shillace, #iGiveCatholic National Program Director, who interviewed the sisters during the webinar, also praised their donation page. The complete interview can be viewed here.
Sharing about their #iGiveCatholic fundraising success has become one of the capstones of this Catholic Rural Ministry. In February 2026 the sisters shared news that they each have been given new assignments that will return them to their religious communities in June – Sister Marian with the Erie Benedictine Sisters of the Mount St. Benedict Monastery and Sister Tina with the Rhode Island Sisters of Mercy. While their ministry in the Oil City Deanery is in the process of sunsetting, the impact of their work over the years lives on in many whom their efforts touched.
In an open letter to the community the sisters said, “As we wrap up our ministry in the Oil City Deanery, we want you to know the deep gratitude and love we feel for the privilege of living and serving with you and for you the past 19 years.”
The Catholic Foundation wishes the sisters well in their new assignments. We have enjoyed our collaboration to bring resources to their meaningful work.