Dear Friends in Christ:
While it is the middle of summer, we still have a lot going on. Work is progressing nicely with Nazareth Hall, our new Youth Ministry space. We expect to be ready for the start of school. Nazareth Hall will add much needed classrooms and meeting spaces for our youth along with offices for our Youth Formation staff. The demolition phase for our new Caritas Center building is now complete and we are preparing for the construction phase. Because of permitting issues, our original schedule has been delayed.
The summer months are a time for us to clean, repair, and perform maintenance to our parish facilities. Our facilities are heavily used, so this is an important time to perform this necessary work. The other day, I counted five different contractors on site in addition to our facilities staff working on different projects. As an aside, I would like to ask you to keep our parish staff in your prayers. Our staff does an incredible job serving our parish. From the Facilities staff to Youth Formation, Music, Parish Life, Adult Formation, Pastoral Care, Administration, Communications, Finance and Social Services Ministries, we are blessed with wonderful and dedicated people.
Summer is also the time when we are gearing up for the many programs that start in the Fall. Three to be especially mindful of; Youth Formation – Every school age child (K-12) should be receiving a religious formation our parish Youth Formation or in one of our Catholic Schools. If your child is not enrolled, please do not deny them this gift. It is not too late, enroll them today. To accomplish this vital ministry requires loving, caring, and dedicated parishioners willing to serve as catechists and helpers. What a great blessing it is to share the love of Jesus Christ with our young people and help them grow in their Catholic faith. Will you help? For more information, please contact our Youth Formation Office.
RCIA – Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults. This is for any adult who has never been baptized or for those who have been baptized in other Christian communities who wish to become Catholic. This is a beautiful process and spiritual journey. The RCIA guides individuals to an encounter with God and to embrace the Catholic Faith. The RCIA assists people in their journey to become Catholic by receiving the sacraments and entering into the life of the Catholic Faith. If someone you know is not Catholic, pray for them and then invite them to consider becoming Catholic! Share with them your joy of being Catholic. If you are not Catholic, I am inviting you to prayerfully consider the beauty of our faith and to explore what Catholicism is and how it can change your life in a most wonderful way. For information, please contact Yvonne Gill in our Adult Formation Department.
And of course, our Annual Parish Bazaar. This is the one event of the year when all our parishioners come together to celebrate and strengthen our parish community with a day filled with fun, food, music, fellowship, games, and entertainment. Nearly 2000 parishioner volunteers come together to create a fantastic bazaar. All the net proceeds from our bazaar are given away! We do not use the proceeds for ourselves, but to support the many charitable works of our parish. The bazaar helps us to financially support our sister parishes, Catholic Education, building homes, and providing assistance to the less fortunate. Our Parish Bazaar helps us to assist families and children throughout the year. Our financial support helps provide food and shelter for the homeless and to help people from becoming homeless. Come and be part of the fun and support a great cause on October 13.
In Pace Christi,
Fr. Troy