On Ushers and Counters
It was pointed out that I forgot to thank the ushers in my column a couple of weeks ago and I assure you that it was not intentional. Some of our Ushers have served the parish for many, many years and they provide a very important service to the parish. I also wanted to mention that I enjoyed a very loud lunch at Portofino’s with the ladies who count our collection. We were so loud I think they put us is in a separate room on purpose so we wouldn’t disturb the others. Collecting the offerings of the parish and counting them are extremely important jobs. There are 5 pages of Archdiocesan guidelines to follow to make sure that all of the offerings are accounted for and deposited properly. I am so grateful for the faithful service of all those involved. I love going to the counting room and catching up on what’s going on in the parish and sharing a smile with them. Thank You Thank You and Thank You to anyone I might have forgotten to thank.
College Dinner
The College Dinner was a lot of fun and the biggest yet. Just over 40 young adults attended. I always enjoy this dinner. It brings back a lot of memories from my years of working on a college campus. As usual, there was lots of conversation, and the kids had a lot of catching up to do. They were so happy to see each other. At the beginning of the evening, we went around the room asking everyone to introduce themselves. I was very impressed by the quality of schools they attend and the demanding majors they have chosen. We have some really smart kids in our parish. Several of our college students had special experiences this past year. One of our kids studied in London, another studied in Geneva and another lived and worked in South Africa for a semester. After dinner we did our traditional exchange of goofy gifts and then
went upstairs to church to pray for a couple of minutes. It was a great time with a great bunch of kids.
Finance Council and KGS Committee Met
The Parish Finance Committee met to review the progress of our Capital Campaign and begin a very preliminary review of our finances for the 2013 Fiscal Year. I will speak more about this when I report on the campaign at all the Masses in the not too distant future.
The KGS Committee continues to work on the plans for our KGS Project. Right now we are beginning to collate and compare all of the bids we have received for the different stages of this project. We hope to begin the process of choosing who would be the best to abate and take down the building. We are also reviewing Architectural proposals for the site work which will follow once the building is down.
New Year Empty Lost and Found
It’s that time again. Every year we start the New Year off by cleaning out the lost and found and all the junk that it collected over the year. This Sunday is your last chance to check and see if any of your items are in the lost and found. There are eye glasses, a bunch of gloves, and a few coats which might have been intended for the coat collection. There is also some jewelry in the pile. CHECK this SUNDAY because Bill is going to empty everything into the wastebasket on Monday.
Confirmation Date
The Archdiocese has informed us that Bishop Rosazza will be presiding at our Confirmation on March 22, 2014. Every year our young people write letters requesting Confirmation. Some of them are very moving. I will begin putting excerpts in the bulletin as they start coming in. Please continue to pray for our young people who ask for Confirmation. It can be a big step in their lives as young adult Catholics.
Please pray for our beloved deceased.
We buried Mary Pelkey, a life-long member of St. Paul Church who was 90 years old, and Dr. Robert Pierro who left behind his 19 year old son.