Dear friends in Christ,
Our parish continues to come back to life after the long winter of the pandemic. Our parish school, PREP program, IHM Center for Literacy, and Star Harbor Senior Center are all operational, even as they implement sound practices to prevent the spread of covid-19. Some of our parish groups are meeting in person again, including our Fides et Ratio monthly reading group. Our beautiful choir and all our liturgical musicians and ministers continue to enhance our worship experience each week. Thank you to all who do so much to make our parish the vibrant, active community it is. May Christ, truly present in the Most Blessed Sacrament, be the source of all our efforts, and may bringing others into that same communion of love be the goal of all we do!
As we approach the season of falling leaves and (hopefully not too much) falling snow, our parish is in need of a few volunteers who can help with keeping our property clean and safe for parishioners and visitors. Please see the message inside the bulletin this week for more information.
Please mark your calendars for Tuesday, November 2nd, which is All Souls’ Day, the day we set aside each year to pray for all the faithful departed, which is one of the spiritual works of mercy. In addition to our usual 7am Mass, we will have a second Mass at 7pm. I’ve sent letters to family members of those whose funerals were here at St. Francis de Sales this year, but if you have someone else you would like remembered who has died in the past year, please contact Jean Jordan, our parish secretary, so we can add the name to the prayer of the faithful.
Enclosed in this bulletin is a special message and budget report about last fiscal year, which concluded June 30, 2021. Please take a look and let me know if you have any questions.
May God be Blessed!
-Father Eric Banecker