Dear Friends,
Let me begin with very good news for which you have been breathlessly waiting. The Photo Directory/Pictorial Directory or the 2019 Community Book has finally come. As I have described to you before we began this project, this is a very good tool for me to know you and for you to know your fellow parishioners. I really treasure it. Thanks for heeding to our request and being part of this venture. My thanks are due to Lifetouch, a professional organization who have done a real professional work at bringing out the best production. I really have to thank Misty, Mike and Kathy Moss for their diligent coordination of this whole enterprise along with some volunteers. Thanks a million for your phenomenal work. Please come to the office from Monday (23rd) through Wednesday (25th) September 2019 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. to collect them.
I am very happy to announce that George and Cis Franzen have been awarded the Family of the Month Award by the Knights. Our Grand Knight Ken Mader presented the award on the 15th September 2019 at the 4.30 p.m. Mass. They have been an indispensable part of our parish community since the foundation. Both George and Cis have played a crucial role in helping to begin, sustain and continue to lead Christ Renews His Parish program. We can be proud to know that more than 750 men and women of our parish have gone through this program and have been touched by Jesus and the Eucharist. Congratulations dear George and Cis. Thanks for all you do for our parish.
SJE KIDS and FAITH FUSION program have begun in great earnestness. We urge our children the parents to make good use of the very lively program offered by the parish. It takes a great deal of work to organize this program. Thanks once again to the parents who take great efforts in ensuring that their children get to embrace their faith which is an invaluable investment for their present and future. EDGE and LIFE TEENS programs have attracted lots of teens to our parish. We are proud of our teens.
Today we celebrate the 25th Sunday C. The Gospel reading prescribed for our reflection invites us to reflect upon one of the very distinctly unique themes of Christianity, namely, Stewardship. It is our belief that at the end of our lives we will be asked to render an account of how we have lived our lives. We are constantly called to reflect on the proper use of our time, talent and treasure. The parable of the dishonest steward is a lesson not in dishonest practices but in being wise and prudent and resourceful when it comes to scoring points for our eternal life. Wealth and money and power and honor are not to exercise lordship over us. The only person that can exercise lordship over us is the Lord Jesus. This then makes for a perfect sequel for me to present the State of the Parish today.
Today I stand before you with the sentiments of gratitude and humility for all that God has blessed us with: the gift of life and our very special gift of FAITH. Thank you for sharing your life and faith with the rest of the community.
We are forever striving to live by the demands of the Gospel and toward that end the primary aim of the Church in general and our parish in particular is to make it feasible for us to become saints. That is our goal and purpose. The worship experience at our parish is aimed at giving you glimpses of heaven. We know that we are not perfect in achieving it because we are humans. However imperfect it might be there are many cheerful and generous men and women who make it possible. Today I want to thank them for their love of the ministries they are part of. I constantly remember the prayer of Thomas Merton: “I believe that the desire to please you does, in fact, please you. Therefore, I will trust you always.”
As a parish we know that our faith needs to be expressed in our social lives and community outreach. We are blessed with many programs and sessions to enrich our faith and social life. In the finance scenario we are again grateful to all of you for your generous help in supporting the operations of our parish. The cost of building our wonderful new church came to about $8.2 million and our total debt came to $1.8 million. Our monthly stipulated payment toward the interest and capital is $8,870.80. However, because of your steadfastness in supporting our DEBT REDUCTION appeal every month we have been able to pay off $ 91,671 in principal as of 30th June 2019. Many of our original and senior members have shouldered a huge share in building our beautiful edifice and I thank them profusely for it. I also make a strong appeal to the new members of our ever-growing parish family to come forward generously to help paying for the debt so you too can be proud of being part of this whole project.
On behalf of Fr. John Patrick Riley, the clergy and the staff I want to thank you all for your extraordinary support in making our parish a most vibrant, most welcoming and joyfully engaging parish.
May God continue to shower upon you his choicest blessings!
Your brother in Christ
Fr. John