Weekly Letter from the Pastor

Dear Fellow Parishioners of St. Benedict:

September is off to a good start, with a lot of comings and goings. We welcomed 407 students to SBS this past week and, while there were some sad faces that summer was ever, the warmth and enthusiasm of the students, teachers, aides, and staff certainly made-up for it.

This weekend we are saying “adieu” to Mrs. Contino. She begins her new position on Monday as the Diocesan Director of Catechesis. We wish her blessings and much success in her new responsibilities. She has taken on an awesome responsibility, and she needs our prayers and support. We do not yet have a start date for Mrs. Dayton. Mr. Santucci and Mrs. Cesario will make the interregnum and transition smooth for all involved.

Father JM and I will be attending the annual diocesan priest’s convocation this week. It is a good opportunity for us to get together with our brother priests and our bishop, for prayer, professional up-dating, and some good old conviviality. We leave on Tuesday morning and will return on Thursday afternoon. A priest from Newark – Father Danny Rodrigues – will celebrate Mass on Wednesday, while one of the deacons will hold a Communion Service on Thursday.

Next weekend is Carnival weekend! A great deal of work and planning has gone in to making this year’s carnival a success, so we pray for good weather and a good turnout. You will notice a number of changes to the carnival this year. The biggest change will be obvious when you arrive for the carnival. We have also been able to expand the number and variety of food trucks this year, so there will be food options for everyone.

Of course, there is also always good entertainment, exciting rides, and probably most importantly – that sense of community, which is such a hallmark of who we are as a parish church and school.

I want to thank in advance the members of the committee all of the volunteers for the carnival. It indeed takes many hundreds of hands to make this a success. We are definitely still in need of people to work – even for an hour on one weekend day. Visit the website or check the sheets in the Narthex after Mass this weekend. The more hands the easier the work.

Don’t forget to get your 50/50 Raffle tickets. We are on target to have the biggest pot in our history. Let’s keep it going!

Let us continue to pray for one another and for our church. While these are challenging times, it is through our remaining faithful and steadfast that we can continue to evangelize the world in which we live. I especially ask your prayers for our bishop and all the priests of the diocese this week on our convocation. I am sure that some of the conversations will be difficult, it will be things that we need to hear and upon which we need to focus.

We are always in need of renewal, and we pray that as difficult as renewal of any sort can be, that we will emerge yet stronger and enthusiastic.

Blessings and peace,
Fr. Garry