165 Bethany Road
Holmdel, New Jersey 07733
732.264.4712
Dear Fellow Parishioners of St. Benedict’s:
Our Summer Academy was honored and blessed this week with a visit from Bishop O’Connell on Thursday. The Bishop celebrated the 9am Mass and then got to meet some of the students, teachers, and volunteers who were here this week. It is a very positive sign that the Bishop is taking an interest in these programs. Of course, he brought with him Mrs. Denise Contino, Diocesan Director of Catechesis and former Director of Faith Formation here. The students had, I believe, a good week. We are looking forward to the final week of the Academy coming up.
The summer camps sponsored by SBS are also going well. The STEM Camp has been a very successful venture, and we are looking forward to expanding our offerings next summer. It is important to utilize our resources to their fullest potential, and to provide safe, faith-filled, and academically challenging programs for our students, and the children of the parish who attend other schools but would like opportunities for enrichment.
Within the next couple of weeks students will be heading off to college – some for the first time and some for the last time. It is hard to believe that the summer has progressed to that point but, to be honest, schools outside of our immediate area seem to start way too early in August. At all of the Masses next weekend (July 27-28) we will offer a blessing to all departing students, along with a gift bag from the parish. The prayers and best wishes of the parish go to all students for the coming academic year. May they be blessed and kept safe.
Once the summer activities around the school wind down we will finish readying the campus for the start of school. Most of the summer projects have involved technology. New projectors have been installed in many of the rooms, and new computers for teacher and student use have been setup. The biggest issue, of course, is always security. We are using grant money to install a centralized locking system for all of the classroom doors in the school. Each classroom will now be locked electronically and a fob will be needed to unlock the doors. The old fashioned key will no longer be necessary. The other benefit of the system is that all doors can be locked from simultaneously from a central system in case of an emergency or a lockdown. This system will certainly make our school a safer place in the event of an emergency.
We are also deep into planning the St. Benedict Parish Carnival (Sep. 13-15). Please save the date. We will be asking for sign-up for volunteer spots soon. Thank you in advance for all you do to make this a successful weekend.
We say “good-bye” to James Sicilia, our summer seminarian intern, this weekend. We kept him very busy, and he was able to interact with many of you in various ministries and projects. He will be on retreat this coming week with the other seminarians of our diocese, so please pray for all of them. He will return to St. Charles Borromeo Seminary (Wynnewood, PA) for second theology, later in August.
Blessings,
Fr. Garry