Weekly Letter from the Pastor

Dear Fellow Parishioners of St. Benedict:

It does seem a bit strange this year that by now we are still not in the Lenten Season, but with Easter on April 20th, we still have two weeks to go before Ash Wednesday. That makes this time of the year seem somewhat slow with not much going on.

Obviously the school is very busy and the Open House this past Friday brought many new families to the school, so we are expecting to be at or near our desired capacity again for the fall session. This does mean that we have some construction to do, as the development of a dedicated music room is much needed. Currently the music classes meet in the Father Anderson Library which then limits its availability for use by the parish throughout the school year. The parish already lacks sufficient meeting space, and losing access to the FAL does place some strain on our ability to host events and meetings.

The Gala which the school is hosting on March 1st is going to support this development within the school. Ideally we will have something in place for September, though there are many moving parts that will have to come together to make this happen.

We are also planning to increase the green space on our property by removing the asphalt covering between the second and third wings of the school. This will not only increase our open space and offer another green area for the students to use for recreation and educational purposes, but also will reduce the radiant heat that overwhelms the classrooms that abut the courtyard. It is amazing how much heat comes off of the blacktop, and when it is trapped inside that space, it makes it very difficult to cool the classrooms. You will also see some work this spring on the soffit on the front of the school and in the courtyard of the first and second wings, near the PreSchool classrooms. The lack of rain gutters on the building has caused the soffit to rot and become a haven for carpenter ants, carpenter bees and wasps.There are days when we have to be careful with the students outside because they get buzzed by the bees. By replacing the soffit and putting on rain gutters we will solve the problem there. We need to do this before the bees become active this spring.

Next Saturday, February 22nd, is the annual Catholic Men for Jesus Christ Rally, being held this year at St. Mary’s Church in Middletown. Please check the bulletin for more details.

I hope each of you has a blessed week ahead,
Fr. Garry