A Note From Fr. Bob

July 11, 2021

Dear Friends,

Grace and peace to you!

There are a couple of updates that I would like to share with you.  The first is that we have surpassed our Annual Catholic Appeal Challenge goal with pledges of $161,566! Our Challenge Goal is $160, 420. Thank you so much!  I served on the ACA Council for six years both as a member and as the Chair of the Parish Emergency Grant Committee and saw firsthand how your contributions helped so many people and parishes.  Your pledges help people in need and parishes facing emergencies for which they did not have the funds to address. Our contributions really do make a difference. The Appeal will continue until August 16th if you would like to make a pledge. You may make a pledge by placing it in the Sunday collection, mailing it to the ACA at the Rigali Center, or going online to archstl.org.  Thank you again for your amazing generosity and making a difference!

The second update is about our parish debt to the Archdiocese.  I am pleased to report that as of June 30th we are debt free!  Thank you for your continued stewardship and generous support of our parish.  You might recall that when we began to address our debt several years ago, Archbishop Carlson provided us with a dollar-to-dollar debt reduction grant.  As we paid against our debt, the Archdiocese reduced our debt equally for each dollar we paid.  This enabled us to pay off our debt in five years instead of the anticipated ten years.  Thank you for your support and thank you to Archbishops Carlson and Rozanski for their support of our parish.  We will have complete Stewardship Report for your review in late August or early September when the books are closed for the year.  In the meantime, if you have any questions, please contact me.

Beginning today, I will be away from the parish for vacation for the next two weeks.  During that time Fr. Chris Seiler will be assisting with Sunday Masses.  Please take care of Father Jerry while I am away.  Take him out to breakfast, bring him donuts or just give him a call. While I am away, please pray for me. I will be praying for you and remembering you in daily Mass.

Speaking of Father Chris, he recently completed his training in Rome for the Diplomatic Service of the Holy See.  The Holy Father appointed him to service in Angola and São Tomé and Príncipe. He is looking forward to working on his Portuguese and getting to know God's people in Angola and São Tomé and Príncipe. Please keep him in your prayers as he begins this next step in his journey of serving God and his people.  God bless you Father Chris and safe travels.

Let’s continue to pray for each other this week.

Peace,

Father Bob