Memorial Masses
Last week we had the annual Memorial Mass for those who passed away last year. We had 90 members of our parish go home to God. I was touched by the number of people who came out to pray for their beloved deceased. I was happy to speak with a number of the families again and see how they are doing. Many are still grieving their loved ones, and that’s OK. Everyone grieves in their own way and their own time. A special thank you to the Bereavement Committee for organizing the evening and the committee who ran the social downstairs. A special thank you to Barbara Killius who was thoughtful enough to give both me and Fr. Tim a candle after the Mass. As you know, my Mom went home to God last March and Fr. Tim’s Dad when home to God last December.
Faith in the Future ( Incredible)
As of yesterday (I’m writing this on Wednesday 11/6) our campaign goal reached $1,104,030.00. from 424 donors. Thank You...Thank You...Thank You. This is bringing us closer to our first Campaign goal of $1,379,000.00 and we are really excited about that.
As you know, our first goal DOES NOT include paying back the loan which we took out from the Knights of Columbus or paying back the reserve funds we needed to purchase the property. When we started “Faith in the Future”, both the Campaign Committee and Finance Council agreed that paying back the loan to the Knights and attempting to replenish some of our emergency reserve funds is very important for the long term financial health of our parish. I am told we need to reach between 700 - 800 pledges to do just that. Tom Drzata is speaking at the Masses this weekend and I am sure he will touch on the challenge of our goal.
Italian Night…. WOW !!!
Italian Night was a wonderful success, as it always is. The food was great and abundant, the company was excellent. Everyone who has spoken to me about the evening has been so happy they came. This year, we even sold tickets on line, and several families took advantage of the convenience. Thank you one and all for this wonderful effort. We really are at our best when we are together. By the way, this year I was away for a wedding, and when I came back there was a dish of food from the Italian Night Committee in the friary fridge marked “Fr. Robert”. Needless to say, my diet went out the window and I dove in. Thanks Again.
Communication, Communication, Communication
In an effort to reduce the number of emails our communication office sends out, in the near future we will be resurrecting the email version, “The Epistle”. It will be a regular way of keeping you posted on what is going on in your parish. Some of our parishioners read the bulletin every week. Some, especially our young families, prefer parish news in their email inbox. Keep your eyes posted and let us know what you think.