THE ARCHBISHOP'S ANNUAL APPEAL- GOAL REACHED
As I type this, Tuesday morning, I was just informed by the Appeal Office that we have surpassed our Annual Archbishop's Annual Appeal goal of $85,000. As of today our parish contributed $87,697.40 or 103% of our goal. There were 574 gifts. We all know that the Annual Appeal is a very worthy cause. I have not missed an opportunity to remind everyone that some of the money which you contributed comes directly back to our Kensington/Berlin neighborhood, local agencies and, of course, our school in the form of scholarships. The Appeal also supports a host of other very worthy endeavors. Thank you so much for your customary generosity. I know the Archbishop and the Archdiocese are most grateful and I assure you that the friars are grateful for your support of this worthy cause.
FIRST COMMUNIONS 109 of them.... WOW!!
As you know, most of my priesthood has been working with university aged young adults, so I have to admit that I am new to First Communion celebrations. I was so moved by the experience last week. These celebrations were indeed family celebrations; everyone was so happy to see each other and participate. One family I spoke to had 5 generations present, from Great Grandma to a new born niece of one of our first communicants. I want to thank the parents who took the time and made the sacrifices needed so that their children could receive our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament. I assure you, you have given them a gift beyond compare. It will be a gift that will nourish them for the rest of their lives. Somepictures of our First Communicants are posted on the web at stpaulkensington.org. Just click on the First Communion picture on our Homepage and you will be taken to the web album with all of our pictures. Parents, you can order prints from that site or forward the pictures you select to family members and friends who could not make this very special occasion.
AS THE KIDS SAY, “YOU GUYS ROCK !!!”
I also want to thank all of our incredible Catechists and Religious Education staff. You have made this year so spiritually and socially fruitful for our children. We have lots of dreams for our Religious Education Program, but for now we can all take a deep breath and relax for a moment as the Religious Education year comes to an end. . I want to especially thank Annie Molleda, Lisa Soderburg, Cynthia Fox and Jean Hughes for their great work with our program. As you know, our program is one of the largest in the state with 964 students, 82 volunteer catechists and a three-person part-time staff. Keep your eyes posted in the bulletin and on the Web for information regarding registration for next year and have a great summer.
THE SCHOOL AUCTION HITS NEW HIGH
Since its inception, the School Auction has been the main fundraiser for our beautiful little school. In the past 15 years, over $250,000.00 has been raised through our School Auction. The hard work of Diane Funk, the School Office Staff, and the Parent Co-Chairs, Jennifer Newman and Rich Smith, paid huge dividends. This year over $31,000 (new record) was raised to help provide scholarships and contribute to the operating cost of our school. It is important to understand that the efforts of our School Development Office are key to the success of our school program. When people donate to the auction they are helping us pay the electric bill. A heart felt thank you goes out to everyone who made this year such a huge record setting success.
AND WITH YOUR SPIRIT
As you probably heard, next year on the First Sunday of Advent the English translation we use for Mass will change. While the changes are not huge, the new translation will be much more faithful to the original Latin text which is the basis for every translation of the Mass throughout the world. Right now many English speaking countries use different translations. Now, wherever you go in the world, the same translation will be used. In the fall we will begin to have opportunities to help prepare our parish to use the new translation. These changes were requested by Blessed John Paul II when he was the Chief Shepherd of our Church.
The first such opportunity will be on Saturday, June 4th, at 9:00 am at St. Thomas Seminary. Monsignor James Moroney will be presenting on this very important initiative in the church. The Conference is called “A New Translation for a New Missal.” If you are interested in attending, please contact Jeff Batter at 860-828-0331, extention 114, or [email protected] for more information. We especially would like to encourage anyone who serves the parish in a liturgical ministry to try and attend.
REGISTRATION NIGHT #2
Once again our Pastoral Council held their monthly registration night for new members of our parish. I am sure you will be happy to hear that 14 people attended. Patty LaVette, our Coordinator for Parish Communications and Membership, wrote more about our new members and the evening. I wanted to thank everyone who helped set up for the event, and on behalf of everyone here at St. Paul Church, welcome our new members to our parish.
Whew, I got tired reading this, but I just didn't want to leave anything out. It is so important to remember how very blessed our parish really is.