Weekly Letter from the Pastor

Dear Fellow Parishioners of St. Benedict:

Have we hit the dog days of summer yet? Coming off of two unsettled weeks of weather it looks like the next heat wave is ahead. That’s a good way to kick off the traditional vacation month. Here is to hoping that everyone has a chance to enjoy some downtime over the next few weeks.

The college exodus kicks off in earnest in another week or so. Thank you to all those college students who were here last weekend for the blessing and the gift bag from the parish. We pray for all of our family members away from home – college, military service, volunteer and community service – who are scattered around the world.

With that worldwide view of church and family in perspective, we will have our annual mission coop speaker and presentation here the weekend of the August 18th-19th. Through a project called Home of Hope India we will hear of the critical need for a new orphanage at Alphonsa Home in Bongaigaon, Assam, India. The sisters hope to build a home for 75 orphaned and disabled girls who lack many of the basic necessities of life and the facilities to make it happen. As always, we pray for them and as they rely on our generosity, we also know that they are here to seek our material assistance. Please be as generous as possible.

I would like to thank everyone who has participated in the Annual Catholic Appeal. Gratefully we have been able to, once again, reach our parish goal. This provides much needed resources for the diocese, and we as a parish also benefit directly from your generosity. However, we are not as far above goal as usual, so our share in the benefits of ACA are diminished. Please consider making a gift to the ACA if you have not done so already. Similarly, we never approached our Faith to Move Mountains goal, so please consider a pledge or gift to that program as well. If you have any questions on either of these initiatives from the diocese, please make contact with me.

Let us continue to pray for one another.
Fr. Garry