Weekly Letter from the Pastor

Dear Fellow Parishioners of St. Benedict:

It certainly has been an interesting winter. We are reaching new levels of cold that we haven’t seen in a long while. While it’s been good -- and especially that we have gotten some ground freeze, it is time to bring on the spring!Daylight Savings Time is only two weeks hence.

This weekend we are focusing on the launch of the Annual Catholic Appeal. This program is necessary, as you will see in the video, to support various diocesan initiatives and to add some needed support to the parishes. Our goal is $86,000 this year -- which is a slight decrease from last year. The diocese has restructured the campaign a bit, giving more incentive to going beyond the goal.

I am happy to note that the open houses for the school were very successful, with 120 new families taking tours of the school. We have also completed the re-enrollment process. We are in good shape going forward into the 2025-2026 school year, though September is a long way off.

Next week is Ash Wednesday and the beginning of the Lenten Season. Please note the guidelines in the bulletin for Lent, especially the days of Fast and Abstinence. The full schedule of Ash Wednesday services is in the bulletin.We offer multiple opportunities to receive Ashes throughout the day.

During Lent we will again have the Wednesday Soup and Scripture series following Stations of the Cross at 5:30 pm. We will continue to have Stations on Friday also at 5:30 pm. This makes things consistent for everyone andi s a more accessible time for many families.

I hope this week is a little warmer and less icy than wasthe past week!

Enjoy --Father Garry