Another update from Stephanie

Our mode of transportation Dominican style today... 11 adults... 21 teens and 12 grade 3's!!!

Peace

DR Mission Report

There have been troubles with the Internet at the DR Mission Site where Stephanie and 18 others from St. Michael's are ministering this week.  But I have received these photos and message from Stephanie:

Sorry for the lack of blog updates we have been without communication all week but everything will be updated when we are back! For now here are a view pictures of the landscape we have been seeing!

Peace

Net Team - 2015

Each year we have welcomed a NET Team to Holy Family Parish. Net Canada is 20 years old this year - and this week we have 10 wonderful young people ministering to the grade 7 students in Holy Family Parish!

Back: Samantha Shepard, Laura Strickland, Lisa Zappio,

Sara Pellegrino, Samantha Wigglesworth, Gigi Genovese

Front:  Mike Travo, Liam Dow, Luke Taylor,

Corbin Blanchard

These Young people (from Canada, USA, and Australia) have devoted this year to spreading the Good News across the country. They have already been to British Columbia - and are working their way East to Nova Scotia by the end of May! They are a delight to work with - and are examples of how young people strive to listen to the call of God and lead lives of holiness in our own day and age!  Thank you "Netters" for your work and ministry among us!

God Bless!

Peace

Mission Team to the DR

Stephanie and a number of Teachers and Students from St. Michael Secondary School head off to the Dominican Republic Friday for a Mission Trip near the border with Haiti.
They will be working in the Batay's - the small housing communities where Hatian Immigrants live as they work on Sugar Cane plantations in the DR.

You can follow the DR Mission Team following this LINK

Peace

Family of Faith Campaign

You have heard me speak at Church about The Family of Faith campaign, which is rooted in the archdiocese’s Pastoral Plan, released by Cardinal Collins in February of 2013.  The Pastoral Plan contains many exciting initiatives that will support and grow our Catholic community. To help fund many initiatives in the Pastoral Plan, the $105 million Family of Faith campaign will address a number of urgent needs within the church. The most pressing of these needs include:
• Providing financial support to parishes to help ensure growth and sustainability
• Supporting Catholic education through parish and campus based ministry to keep our youth engaged in an active life of faith
• Investing in resources that will help all of our clergy grow and be the pastoral leaders we all rely on them to be
• Ensuring there is a strong Catholic voice in an increasingly secular world
• Restoring and enhancing the beauty of St. Michael’s Cathedral as the mother church of all Catholics in the archdiocese
• Establish a new capital fund to provide financing to new churches and to support those parish communities that may be struggling with significant building issues.

Here is a video descibing the Family of Faith Campaign:

I fully support the goals of the Family of Faith campaign.  As Catholics, we are challenged to respond to God’s call to prepare the Church for its next century of service.  
Every parish in the archdiocese will participate in this project.  Each parish has a financial goal. Our parish goal is $490,000 dollars. Our parish will keep 25 cents of every dollar we raise. Upon reaching our goal, this parish will receive at least 119,000 dollars. 
With the funds we raise in our campaign, we will be able to:
• Upgrade our Sound System, and enhance our Youth Ministry with Technology;
• Contribute to the Food Support Program through the Exchange;
• Remodel our Hall Kitchen; and repair / repave our Parking Lot.

When we surpass our goal, our parish will receive 75 cents of every dollar we raise from that point forward. It is my hope that we can raise over 1 Million Dollars, and be able to build an Atrium over the Concrete Pad on the Allen Drive side of the church entrance. This could allow for better situations for overflow Masses and another meeting room.

Now, this may seem like a lot, but I am pleased to announce that, as of today, we already have received pledges of $452,500 dollars from only 52 gifts! That’s an average gift of over 8,800 dollars.  I am overwhelmed by the generosity of our parishioners thus far!  

We also have been blessed by the volunteer support of some of our fellow parishioners. Michael Stapleton and David Martin have been serving as Co-Chairs, and a group of dedicated men and women have been helping me with this project. I am grateful for their leadership and assistance for the benefit of our parish community and this unprecedented effort.  

We will be talking more about Family of Faith over the next several weeks.  
Please pray for the success of the campaign. Thank you and God bless.

Happy New Year

These days have been full of celebration! From the 4th Sunday of Advent to the Feast of Epiphany - we have 5 Major Celebrations in 2 weeks! And for us as a parish -The Sunday between Christmas and New Years is our Parish Name Day - our Feast Day. 
Thank you to the Knights of Columbus for sponsoring the Parish Family Skate on Sunday Dec. 28th! The Hot Chocolate, the Donuts, and the skating were all terrific!

Thank you also to the Prayer group for providing refreshments for the Movie Night: Mary of Nazareth. We have copies of the movie available to purchase in the Parish office - they are $30 each.

We are looking forward to the Feast of the Epiphany, which is really all about the universal nature of salvation. These sages from the East represent the "foreigner" (the "gentile" in the Jewish world) and so the Incarnation is not for an elite few, not simply for a distinct nation or race, but for all of the Human Family.  The Manifestation of the Christ (the anointed one - the messiah) in the Epiphany, in the Baptism of Jesus, and in the Miracle at Cana, all proclaim who Jesus is - and who he is for! He has come for all of us - Sinner and Saint. Broken and healed.

In the midst of this busy time I have also been spending a lot of time at the Hospital - visiting some people who have been seriously ill. One of them was Kathryn Burt - from my previous parish - who had Lung Cancer - which eventually moved into her Bones and then into the Brain. I was able to see Kathryn 2 times this week - and had a very good conversation - talking about those typical questions - Why Me? etc.  We spoke of how this was a privileged place to be in - to be able to face our mortality and still have the chance to speak the words necessary to our loved ones.
Kathryn died peacefully on New Years Day in the Morning. She was only 60 years old - so please keep her Son and Daughter (Mike and Sonia) in your prayers as they prepare to bury their Mother.  Eternal Rest grant unto her. O Lord, and let perpetual light shine on her.  May her soul, and the souls of all the faithful departed rest in the peace of Christ.  Amen.
Peace