March
12, 2006
Now
Take Four Steps
Take
a Step
Last weekend I spoke at most of the masses as a follow-up to my letter
which explained our campaign to increase regular donations to our parish.
I received many encouraging comments, some good suggestions,and our
collection in one weekend went from around $18,000 to over $21,600.
Not everyone returned Take a Step cards but those who did account for
total pledges of at least $1,000 a week in increased giving.
Thank you so much for responding so quickly and so positively . I’m
still encouraging folks to put their Take a Step card in the collection
basket, if they haven’t already, because it helps us adjust our
budget accordingly.
We’re well on our way to address our need for some savings and
to deal with an impending $170,000 deficit.
Thank you so much again.
Census
Continues
Of the approximate 6,000 families we usually send mail to, we’ve
received completed Census booklets from over 2,000. So we’ve got
a ways to go.
Is your booklet in?
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Past Columns:
March 5: Take A Step
Feb 26:Coming Home
Feb19: Visiting Heros
Feb 12: Passing Pastor
Feb 4: Annual Appeal
Jan 22: Abandoned Nets
Jan 15: Everlasting Life
Jan 8: I'm not going to
jail..
Jan 1: Happy New Year
Columns
from 2005
Columns
from 2004
Columns from
2003
Columns from 2002
Last
week I wrote about our “Take a Step” campaign in which I encouraged
everyone to give a bit more (a little or a lot) in the weekly collection.
This week I want to promote some other steps. Suppose you wanted to get
closer to God. What if you could take four steps that would get you there?
Well, we’re planning on having
a lenten mission during the week of April 2nd that will lead people up
four steps to Easter -- and a profound closeness to God. This mission
will be given in various forms -- to our school children, to our children
in Religious Education, to people who can come out during the day (after
the 12:10 Mass) and people who can come out in the evenings.
Each day (Monday through Thursday)
will involve another step.
Each step will be presented at the different venues by members of our
parish staff. Each step is a way to experience God and grow closer to
God.
I don’t want to give much more away at the moment. But I’m
writing about this today so you could put this mission on your calendar.
Plan on coming for all four sessions if you can, or come for just some
of them if that’s all your schedule will permit.
(We’re going to rearrange the church meeting calendar so that we’re
free for all four days -- perhaps you could arrange to be free too!)
Besides getting closer to God,
these mission experiences are also designed to help everyone prepare for
Holy Week in a deeper way. And Easter Sunday will just come alive in a
new way for those who participate in our mission.
There will be more about this mission
in the next few weeks, but for now, please mark you calendars for either
the early afternoon or the evening from April 3rd through 6th. And pray
for our staff as we prepare for this spirit-filled time.
