Christmas is often the occasion when we take a trip down memory lane. We remember not only the traditions, sights, and smells of Christmastime, but especially the people who, for various reasons, may or may not be with us this Christmas day.
I would like to offer a profound THANK YOU to Dan Palko, Director of Music Ministry, for sharing his gifts and musical talent here at St. James the Apostle Church. During our short time working together, Dan has proved to be an extraordinary musician and man of deep faith.
You may have noticed an upward trend in our Sunday Collections over the past few weeks…THANK YOU! Thank you for responding so generously to our appeal for your increased financial support. Your response to our appeal is humbling.
Advent is here and well underway. I hope you notice this year that the environment in the church will slowly develop as we progress further and further into the Season of Advent, ultimately culminating at Christmas. This slow yet methodical development is what’s called progressive solemnity.
It’s almost hard to believe that Advent has arrived. To be honest, I almost always begin the Advent season with mixed emotions. While the excitement of Christmas does stir the heart and comfort the soul, I just can’t shake off the fact that another year is almost over.
As a Church, we can do a lot better when it comes to preparing newly engaged couples for the Sacrament of Marriage. Our new marriage preparation program will pair the newly engaged couple with a mentor couple from St. James
In an effort to provide support to families and individual parishioners in need, we are initiating a new charity fund, Apostle in Action Charity Fund. This parish-based fund will provide parishioners and members of our local community with some financial assistance.
While we still expect some additional expenses to be paid, we are thrilled to report that this year’s festival was a record-breaker – approximately $50,000 profit!!! Once again, a big THANK YOU to all who helped make this year’s festival a huge success.
Friends, I hope you would agree that St. James has the potential to become an increasingly dynamic parish family. The parish clergy, staff, lay leadership, and I are all working hard to make St. James a prayerful place to worship, a great place for families and parish life, as well as a place where anyone can apply his or her talents for the good of all.
The initial step that we need to collectively take to begin moving from Point A to Point B is to generously increase our weekly giving.