Weekly Letter from the Pastor

Dear Fellow Parishioners of St. Benedict:

I hope everyone has an enjoyable Labor Day Weekend. It looks like we should have some nice weather, and it is a great time to be able to get together for that end-of-summer bbq. Our teachers were back last week and the students arrive on Wednesday for the opening of another school year -- the sixty-second school year -- at St. Benedict School. Enrollment is strong --- somewhere over 450 --- and we are poised and ready to go.

You might notice that over the past week we sealed the parking lot. This had not been done in a few years and there were many cracks that needed to be repaired. In this way we can prevent the development of potholes over the winter. Also you might notice -- and the school parents will -- new front doors on the school. While we had talked about it, this became more urgent as we reflected on school safety. All-glass front doors, even though they were shatter resistant, did not offer either the protection nor the optics that best serve our school. There is yet another set of doors on the third wing that will be replaced in a few weeks.

An internet connectivity issue is holding us back from launching the new sign on Bethany Road. Hopefully that is cleared up this week.

Final stages of planning for the Family Fun Weekend are underway. Please set aside the weekend of September 22-23-24 and join the SBS community for entertainment, fun, games, and good food. All proceeds go to support the school. Also please purchase those raffle tickets, and support the parish through this annual fundraiser. There are a few projects that we need to undertake, and this will certainly help us along the way.

The parish is in need of a new pro-life coordinator. The responsibilities are not too burdensome, it involves some coordination with the diocesan offices, and also with the
parish itself. Please let me know if you are interested.

As we prepare for more focus on the Eucharistic Revival through various presentations and activities in the coming year, Father Adam has written a series of articles on How to receive -- and How Not to receive Communion. Over time we can get careless, and some of us are the product of mixed or even insufficient catechesis. I hope you find his insights here enlightening and informative.

A blessed week ahead!
Fr. Garry