On the second and third weekends in October, Fr. Expedito will be presenting his annual appeal for COTREAS (Come To The Rescue) for the grade school he has been building in Africa for many years. It is our annual mission appeal. At ths same time, I will be presenting the Archdiocesan Catholic Services Appeal (CSA). In other words, Fr. Expedito will be in one parish for all its three Sunday Masses, and I will preach in the other parish at its Masses. One exception, due to my wedding schedule: I will present the CSA appeal at St. Brigid at the 4 pm Mass on this weekend.
Earlier in the spring, we held a fundraiser at St. James called “Return The Love” to help with capital projects, including roof repair, exterior painting, repair to the bell, and improved security for the Bardstown Road facing front doors. Later this year, we hope to have a similar compaign to pay for capital projects at St. Brigid such as the church boiler, air conditioning units for the church, and the Goetz Center to name a few.
Throughout the year, our Legacy donors offer generous financial assistance that enables the students at St. James School to have a quality Catholic education. This fundraising is supplemented with our Lenten fish frys and our summer and fall Beer Gardens.
As always, we rely on our weekly stewardship donors to pay for the ongoing operational costs of both of our parish churches, rectories, and school building.
Why is there so much fundraising throughout the year? The simple answer is that we do not expect every parishioner to participate in every fundraising activity. Instead, we present opportunities that may particularly speak to your desire for charitable giving. Return The Love was successful (and is still ongoing) because of the unique opportunity to memorialize loved ones in our beautiful church. Different needs speak to different people.
I hope this will help you understand what may seem like endless “asking for money.” I hope that, like me, you will pray about where you want your charitable dollars to go and not feel pressured about things that do not attract your interest. During the past eleven years I have served here, I have been amazed at your generosity – how responsive our relatively small community is to our ongoing needs. In this way, we will ensure that St. Brigid and St. James parishes will continue to serve the Highlands for many years, even generations, to come.
