Greetings from Fr. Dave

I received a note from Bishop Peter asking me to extend thanks to all of you for your support of the Fire Relief Fund. Our parish sent off over $80,000, some to Catholic Charities and some directly to Sacred Heart Parish in Medford that had so many families burned out. Well done, good and faithful and generous people!
 
We also completed the October Diaper Drive, our annual effort coordinated by our Respect Life Ministry. Approximately 2,748 diapers and 7,244 wipes were collected. Once again, impressive outpouring of care. And, while I am noting the exceptional outreach being done through so many of you, our Thanksgiving and Christmas gift card collection is also going magnificently. Our mission as a parish to KNOW Jesus personally, GROW in that relationship, and GO forth is being fulfilled in some very concrete ways. I love it!


Many of you know or have heard of Deacon Bob Little, who was longtime on staff at St. Pius X. He and his wife are now active in our parish. Deacon Bob’s primary ministry now is doing chaplain work with Caring Partners Hospice, but he will be occasionally helping out here at the parish as well. I respect him greatly and welcome him to our community!


You’ll soon be receiving a postcard from us alerting you to our ongoing efforts to stay connected and engaged as a parish community. This month we will begin sending out a weekly e-newsletter on Fridays with links directly to our bulletin, previous week’s homily, and daily reflections. You can sign up/subscribe for this on our homepage. Our email database is growing but far from complete, so the postcard is an effort to reach all our parish. For those not able/comfortable accessing the Internet, we are sending the bulletin in the mail. Let us know if you (or someone you know) need that! 


Thanksgiving Day! For many of us, including me, Thanksgiving morning Mass is the most enjoyable Mass of the year, filling the church with such positive spirit — especially with the impressive amount of food donations. Current restrictions mean only a tenth of our usual number could attend, so we’re going a different route altogether. At 9:00am on Thanksgiving, we invite you to come to HT with food donations. Our staff will greet you at the Food Closet and give you a prayer card to use before dinner.
 
We are also preparing a short video (to be posted online at 9:00am that day) that we would suggest you play as part of your meal blessing. It will include a message from me, music selection with various portrayals of life at Holy Trinity, and end with Fr. Hans leading you in the prayer on the card. We hope this can be a way we can connect meaningfully as we give thanks to God for his many blessings!
 

Blessings to Joshua Downey, Jr. and to Danielle Rydzewski, who were baptized this weekend!