Dear Parishioners,
Liturgically the whole church ends its worship cycle “B” this weekend and begins a new liturgical worship year with the first Sunday of Advent. During this new beginning of the worship cycle “C” many of our weekend liturgies proclaim the holy Gospel of Luke. As a reminder, there are three liturgical worship cycles (A, B, C) and were developed so that the church can hear in three years the Gospel readings from the three evangelists of Matthew, Mark, and Luke! The evangelist, John, has an annual place during the Easter season and again for six weeks during the summer.
The idea behind these Gospel proclamations in three years is so that we can hear the complete stories of Jesus from our four evangelists.
This weekend, I would like to present to all of you another new beginning for our IHM church, the beginning of a needed offertory increase.
As a good steward for your sacrificial generosity, I (you may as well) see a decline in weekly offertory revenue and I surmise it partially comes from one less mass on our weekends, the 4:30pm Sunday Mass which ended in January 2024. I am also aware of everyone’s financial constraints and the pricing increase for everything, the recent high inflation rates, prices of groceries etc. I am sure those are not helping families, especially ones with children, thus limiting the weekly offertory gift.
Also, I think the drop in Faith Direct donors over the course of the past two years slowly played a big part. Looking back in November of 2022 (2 years ago) we had an average of 340 regular faith direct donors. Last week we reported 307. My observation is that some of these downward numbers of Faith Direct users have been due to deaths, but also to parishioners finding newer places to worship.
At this very time of my initiative for a new beginning for IHM church, I have been given permission by Bishop Malesic to look at our church interior and renovate it in such a way that would “bring Christ back to our center,” placing the tabernacle back in the center nave at the back wall where the choir used to be! This project I also look at as a beginning for parish “renewal” for our reverent liturgical life and hopefully our Mass attendance.
Over the years of my pastorate, I have always experienced your reverence and devotion, at our Masses, which is heart-warming to me and lifts me up. I believe this future new beginning for IHM with a needed offertory increase and sanctuary renovation can grow our parish liturgical life, its numbers, and its fidelity to Christ!
Lastly, I always want to do what is best for YOU, to serve your sacramental needs that are convenient, useful, and suitable. So, help me here by answering these questions. Return either in collection basket or drop off or mail to the Rectory by December 3, 2024. You can also complete the survey online by going to https://forms.gle/7wA8XybBM84SQvyb6.
Many blessings,
Father Jim