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January 22, 2021

My Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

It has been quite a ride over these past few months. We went from very crowded Masses and a wonderfully loud and engaged school environment to almost a ghost town for several weeks. But gradually and surely life is returning to St. Ignatius Martyr Catholic Church and School. Albeit a different reality but one that that offers hope and consolation that we will come back as a full and once again vibrant community.

This is the time of year when we hold our Stewardship Days. We will not let the pandemic win on this one! We will roll Time and Talent talks together on the weekend of January 30-31. We will have our Ministry Booklets updated with current leadership information available. The following weekend February 6-7 we will have our Treasure Talk which I would like to discuss in this letter.

I am very well aware that these days of COVID-19 have caused great hardship in many areas of our lives including our financial lives. We have done all we can to cut expenses at the parish without sacrificing our programs and ministries. I have learned that there is a point where if we cut too much, we risk not being who we are as a large and thriving parish. We need to make sure we are ready and able to ramp things back up at our parish and our school. I am reminded of a friend who has a very nice vintage car… that he never uses! He continues to pay his insurance and registration and license, rotate his tires, change the oil, lube the chasse and other various regular maintenance. I once asked why he does all this if he is not using the car. He simply said that day will come, and the car will be ready to rock and roll! His plan was to use the car later in his life so he knew that he had to maintain it now (and spend money on it) so it would be ready later on.

I tell this story because I feel that this is symbolic of where we are at as a parish and school. We are using our school and parish, no doubt but nowhere near our capacity. In some respect the school and parish are like my friend’s car, needing to be maintained in order to be fired up at the right time, and that takes money! So once again I come before you asking that you prayerfully discern your weekly/monthly contribution to our parish. If you are at all capable of increasing your tithe, please do so. Our parish is dependent on the “loose” collection, from visitors and the occasional church goer. That income source has basically dried up for now. We need to make up for those contributions and that is why I ask if you can do a little bit more than you are doing now it would be greatly appreciated.

Please fill out your enclosed pledge card to let us know your commitment for this year and return it in the collection basket, mail it or drop it off at the parish office. It is very important that we hear from all of you. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me or Michelle Fontana in the parish office. If you are not yet using electronic giving please consider doing so… it is safe and efficient.

My thanks to all of you and your generosity.

Fr. John Dougherty, CSC
Pastor

Missed filling out your annual commitment card during Mass? Download it here! Once filled out, you may drop it off at the parish office or in the collection basket on Sunday.

Click to read Fr. John's Stewardship letter (Bilingual)

Download the 2021 Annual Commitment Card (Bilingual)

Download our State of the Parish Report