WELCOME BISHOP DON HANCHON! Today we welcome Bishop Hanchon to St. Blase. He will confer the Sacrament of Confirmation on our teens who have been preparing for the past two years. CONGRATULATIONS TO OUR CONFIRMANDI confirmed in their baptism and sealed with the Holy Spirit. I wish each and every one of you God’s blessing. May the outpouring of the Holy Spirit deepen your faith and strengthen you to live lives worthy of the baptism you have received. You are the future of the Church. You are our future pastoral associates, directors of faith formation, musicians, Christian service coordinators, lectors, communion ministers and parish pastoral council members, as well as our future priests and religious. Even now, today, we celebrate the varied and diverse ways you build up our community and the entire Body of Christ, the Church, through your fidelity in worship and your service to others.
This week several of our staff members, myself included, will be attending THE “AMAZING PARISH” CONFERENCE. Archbishop Vigneron has requested that all parishes in the Archdiocese bring a team, which includes the pastor, to this conference. This event, though not strictly speaking part of the upcoming Synod, is related to it. By improving our parishes we would hope to see a positive effect in the area of evangelization, as well as a community’s worship spirituality, service, faith formation and so forth. Being a tad prejudiced in this regard, I think we are pretty amazing already. However, I am definitely open to any and all new ideas and concepts that will assist us in being even better, especially as we head toward our 50th anniversary. At any rate, while amazing, we cannot bi-locate! So please understand that some of our staff have a very limited availability most of this week. Thanks
Right around the corner is the start of the beautifying ministry of our Garden Club. In just a few weeks they will be clearing away dead growth, preparing garden beds and planting flowers. Many hands make light work and OUR GARDEN CLUB WOULD BE HAPPY TO WELCOME NEW MEMBERS. Gardening is a great way to get in a little exercise, re-discover God’s handiwork, be close to the earth, and meet a few more of your fellow parish members. Why not consider giving it a try this spring? Contact Cindy Aluia or the parish office for more information.
NEXT SUNDAY WILL BE THE START OF THE ANNUAL CATHOLIC SERVICES APPEAL. St. Blase has been assessed a target of $137,894.00 (One hundred thirty-seven thousand and eight hundred and ninety-four dollars.) This is about a four thousand dollar decrease from last year. Any surplus over this amount will be returned to our parish. If we do not meet our target, the shortfall must be taken from our operating budget. This is what we have done for many years. I am hoping that with the Changing Lives Together (CLT) campaign concluding you might consider adding all or part of those funds that you have been contributing to CLT into your CSA contribution. That would give us a better chance at making our target and avoid dipping into our operating budget. I know you will do your best to help us reach our CSA target and I thank you for your generous support.