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 Dear
Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
This is a busy time of the year. More and More activities
are happening with all of our various areas of ministry. The RCIA has begun.
PRE kicks-off next weekend. School is open. The Christ Renews His Parish
weekends for both the men and the women are coming up. We have more
opportunities than ever to get involved, to help out, and to serve our Parish.
The Parish Council is sponsoring our annual Ministry Fair after all Masses on
Sept.12th & 13th.
It is clearly time for all of us to discern how we are going to be involved at
our Parish in this coming year. We all need to find out how we can best help
out.
We’ve got a change in our Mass schedule to announce this
weekend. Beginning on the Sunday after Labor Day, or September 13th,
our 5:00 PM Sunday evening Mass is going to be moving to 5:30 PM. Over the last
several years, we’ve oftentimes received requests to move the Sunday evening
Mass a little later, to accommodate Sunday afternoon activities, and to buy an
extra half-hour to get ready for and get to Mass. At this time, we feel the
time is right to honor those requests. Many have mentioned that they find it
easier to get to the Sunday evening Masses at neighboring parishes because they
are just a little later in the evening. The 5:30 PM will remain a
“youth-oriented” Mass, with our high school youth choir providing the music, and
our high school students providing many of the ministers for that Mass. With
this move to 5:30 PM, St. Maria Goretti now lines up with a couple of other
neighboring parishes at the same time slot. Both our high school youth group,
TRUTH, and Men’s Christ Renews His Parish will continue to meet on Sunday
evenings. The youth group will now begin with snacks at 6:30 PM and its program
beginning at 7:00 PM and lasting until 8:30 PM in the Youth Room, in the
basement of the church. Men’s Christ Renews His Parish will continue to meet at
7:00 PM in the Pope John Paul II room. Mass schedule changes are never easy.
Undoubtedly, there will be some who won’t agree with the time change. I assure
you that we are trying to meet the needs of as many people as possible.
Sometimes for the common good, we all have to shift our schedules. Please work
with us as we all try our best to reach everybody. Again, mark your calendars
for Sunday, September 13th,
for the switch to 5:30 PM Mass on Sunday evenings, right here at St. Maria
Goretti!
I would like to thank all of you for your donations and
your on-going commitment to our Shepherd’s Gate Food Pantry. The Pantry stays
open three-times-a- week now, because of your generosity and willingness to help
out. The number of “clients” has grown substantially over the last several
months. Your on-going generosity, and especially your willingness to help out
with the food drive items-of-the-month, has enabled us to keep this outreach and
service going strong. I offer my special thanks to Peggy and Ken Norus and Ann
and Mike Brown, and the dozens of volunteers who help out in the Pantry every
month. You guys are awesome! May we work together to continue to provide for
those who are in need right here in our own community!
I’d also like to thank all of those who stepped up last
weekend, and volunteered to help with our Religious Education programs and youth
ministry. I know that God will reward each one of you for generous spirit! We
continue to pray for all of our religious education programs. It is most
important work and it has such an impact on our Faith and on our Church. If you
haven’t had the chance to call Connie Anderson yet, what are you waiting for?
Call Connie today at 317-867-3213 ex.#203 to see how you can help out. PRE
starts next weekend!
Thanks also go to our Girl Scouts from Troop #226 from
here at St. Maria Goretti and all of their adult leaders. The girls put on a
wonderful evening for our seniors at their first-ever Dinner/Dance. We thank
all of you for your hard work and dedication. I know that it was a fun evening
for all!
Thanks for praying with us this weekend. It’s hard to
believe that it is already the Twenty-first Sunday in Ordinary Time. The year
is flying by! Have a good week!
In Christ,
Fr. Kevin
God is like a person who clears His throat while hiding, and so
gives Himself away. |
