Sep 03, 2020

Greetings,

This week I need someone like you to sign up for our annual Eucharistic Devotions. Our Eucharistic Devotions run from after the 11:00am Mass on Sunday, September 13th, through to Tuesday evening, September 15th. Two people are needed for each hour that Our Lord is exposed on the altar. If you are flexible, please consider taking the more difficult hours to fill: after school until after dinner and the early, pre-dawn hours.

Sign up sheet will be on the altar rail in front of the Blessed Virgin statue.

We will not be having speakers this year due to COVID. Instead, we will focus on giving praise and thanksgiving by spending time with our Eucharistic Lord, we will have Vespers (evening prayer) at 4:30 each day and Compline at 8:00pm on Sunday and Monday, and on Tuesday, we will have a short, candlelight procession with the blessed sacrament and our painting of St. Sebastian around our property (if it is not raining) followed by compline and benediction. He is faithful to us even as the world is not and this is our opportunity to thank and praise Him.

IN OTHER NEWS:

LABOR DAY NOTICES:  Mass on Labor Day will be at 9:00am. The parish offices will be closed on Labor Day.

MARK THE DATE FOR ST. PADRE PIO:  The parish has received a relic of St. Padre Pio. I would like to introduce the relic to you at the 9:00am Mass on Sunday, September 20th, the anniversary of the day that he received the stigmata. More information to follow.

BULLETIN SHORTAGE:  With more people returning to Mass, we ran out of bulletins last week. My apologies. We will begin to order more again.

STATUS ANIMARUM:  Every year I share with you the “State of Souls” report in which parishes all around the world participate. This centuries old practice is the Catholic equivalent to the government’s census. Here are some highlights:

Thanks to COVID, we were able to do a census this year, contacting all of our households and correcting information. Typically this shows a reduction in numbers but we experienced an upward correction. Last year we reported 1,777 households with 4,929 persons, this year we are reporting 1,787 households with 4,952 individuals. Baptisms were about 15 down from last year at 49. New people coming into the Church were up to 9. We had 18 marriages this year compared to 13 the previous. While those who contribute to the parish was only up marginally. Deaths were up to 41 from 33 last year. Under “Notable Events,” mention had to be made, of course, of COVID and the many events that were cancelled because of it. But, on the positive end, thanks to COVID our parish is now more technologically savvy at both the church and the school. With the investment of technology we have begun to do such things as share our Masses through live-streaming and to make it possible for those out of town to see such things as funerals of loved ones they might not otherwise be able to attend. We also had an awesome intern again this year with Mr. Ian Kelly and we had “Project Clean Up!” at the school in which there were extensive improvements to the building including new floors, new lockers, new school desks, new teacher’s desks, painting and new technology.

Thank you to our patron, St. Sebastian, for keeping us so alive and vital even during an otherwise difficult year!

St. Sebastian, pray for us!

God bless,

Fr. Valencheck