Weekly Letter from the Pastor

Dear Fellow Parishioners of St. Benedict:

As you can see the pavement has been replaced along the front of the church and school property. This has been a tremendous undertaking, and we are very grateful to Kevin Shepherd and his company for donating the product to us. Our only financial obligation to the project is the labor (which is over $60,000 anyway). This, however, is not your typical concrete project. This is a recycled material including tens of thousands of glass and plastic bottles, along with recycled concrete. Once I have more details I will pass that along to you. This is an important step in our green initiative in the school. We are happy to use and to showcase this material advancement for use in construction and sidewalk construction.

This weekend and next weekend we are supporting Catholic Charities projects in their school backpack and back-to-school supplies drive. Thank you for your support and generosity.

Of course we are reminded then that school is just a month away and we are making steady progress in getting ready for that.

We still have some open spots in the school, so if you have any interest, please make contact with the school soon. We are also looking for a second grade teacher, so pass that along to anyone you know who may be looking for a position.

The boiler system that heats the church and school will be replaced this week, completing the project begun in April with the new air conditioning units. With the intense heat we have had this summer, I am very grateful that we undertook the air conditioning project when we did as the old unit was beyond repair and had been unreliable for the past few years.

We are almost to goal for the Annual Catholic Appeal. If you have yet to make a gift, please consider making a donation so that we can reach our goal. Once our goal is met all donations over goal comes directly back to the parish.

Next weekend, August 9th and 10th at all the Masses we will have the blessing for all of our parishioners who are leaving for college, be it the first or the fifth time.

This is also a good time to remind you to let us know when you are moving from the parish so that we can extend a blessing to you as you leave here and move to a new community.

I hope everyone has a safe and blessed week ahead.
Fr. Garry