Fr. Louis Bulletin Letter - November 12, 2006 - Includes Subscribing to Catholic Times and Diocesan Appeal results to date
In the coming weeks I will be making arrangements to visit all our homebound and institutionalized parishioners. Thanks to Lorraine Studinski who so generously coordinates Communion calls and visits to our homebound throughout the year! And thanks to the army of parishioners who give of their time to bring our Eucharistic Lord to our infirm parishioners! On a rather regular basis this Fall I have visited two of our area care centers. Most recently I spent several hours with a volunteer going from room to room in one institution hearing confessions, celebrating the Anointing of the Sick, distributing Holy Communion, and giving blessings. It was a joy to spend this time with our own parishioners and those from our neighboring parishes!
The Catholic Times is the award-winning newspaper of our Diocese. It gives week-in, week-out coverage of the life of the Catholic Church in our Diocese, our nation, and our world. Some people wonder what good purpose our diocesan paper serves them. Well, recently a number of parishioners approached me with questions about the corporate restructuring of the Diocese and the implications for Saint Peter. If these people had subscribed to the Catholic Times or actually read it, they would have had all their questions answered by the detailed articles that had just appeared in our paper! With the development of the diocesan pastoral plan and the massive changes that will be forthcoming in our Diocese in the near future, the Catholic Times will be a privileged source of information. Envelopes for renewal or new subscriptions are found in the pews. Your check may be made payable to Saint Peter Parish. Should you wish to cancel your subscription, please complete the envelope and write “cancel” on the “amount” line. Place completed envelopes in the offertory basket or bring them to the rectory.
The Diocesan Annual Appeal at Saint Peter’s is well under way. I myself have made my financial pledge and sent in my first payment. Bishop Listecki expects us priests to give ‘till it hurts! Thank you to the 205 families of our parish that have already responded with pledges of prayers as well as nearly $37,000.00. Keep praying for our Bishop and for the success of this year’s Appeal. In addition, I ask you to give prayerful consideration to your own financial gift to the Appeal. No gift is too small. Last year your participation in the Appeal made it possible, for example, for Catholic Charities to provide assistance to 144 victims of domestic violence. Also, from the monies generated throughout the Diocese from last year’s Appeal, Bishop Listecki gave to Saint Peter a grant of $15,000.00 as a help in our financial commitment to the Stevens Point Area Catholic Schools. The Diocesan Annual Appeal at Saint Peter’s was a huge success last year. With your continued generosity we can once again meet and even surpass our target of $70,168.62. As always, 100 percent of any funds beyond our goal are returned to us at Saint Peter’s for our use right here. Thank you to our Appeal co-chairs, Jim and Yvonne Gies, our Appeal secretary, Irene Schulist, and our parish administrative assistant, Susan Varga. We are grateful to them for all the hard work they do to ensure a smooth and successful operation of the Appeal!
Saint Peter, pray for us! Our Lady of Guadalupe, pray for us!