From the corner office for Nov. 27, 2022

From the Corner Office is Father Mike’s weekly bulletin column.

HAPPY NEW YEAR to you and your family! That is Happy New Liturgical Year to you… The start of this new liturgical year brings us into the start of the season of Advent. The readings all focus on “being on the journey” and “moving out of the darkness and into the light”. The movement together up the mountain is shown in the First Reading from the Book of the Prophet Isaiah; moving into a time of peace for the Israelites.

St. Paul calls us all to be awake from our sleep! Prepare ourselves and “put on the armor of light”. This is preparing us for the battle, knowing that we will be living for God. Even Jesus urges us to stay awake and “…you also must be prepared…” We left ourselves at the end of the year asking, are you ready. Even working on our homework of examining the year as a whole. Now we look forward and move forward “being prepared” to take on the new year for a time of growing and deepening our relationship with God and each other.

Fr. Mike

From the Pastor’s Desk:

This Tuesday, November 29th will be the one day of giving which has now grown to be an annual event. The 24-hr day of giving named - #weGIVECATHOLIC is a day where we are all able to give back to the parish. The avenues by which you can give include; in person giving at the rectory office, mail-in (by Nov. 29th), online and by phone (with limited hours). Since the pandemic and starting here as the parish administrator, I know we have all seen the needs for repairs and updates desperately being needed around the entire campus, church, school, parking lot, and landscaping. Things have ranged from simply “being tired”, to not working completely, to (even) being a safety concern. The drop in the Mass collections and increase in costs are two very challenging facts of reality. Yes, we will need to address the drastic drop in the collection, but for now we are utilizing the #weGIVECATHOLIC campaign as a means to “keep the money here” at St. Thomas More. Except for a minimal handling fee, close to 100% of the donated funds remain here at St. Thomas More. The funds last year and this year will allow us to finish the much needed repairs, renovations, and updates to the Utopia Hall area. This is an area that has aged very quickly since the use of the bingo program, and we need to get it back to a level where this area of Utopia Hall can be shared by the parish and community.

PLEASE-please… be sure to ask if you have any questions on how best to donate, as we are even going to be asking for prayers for a successful campaign. We thank all of those who have already donated incentive prizes, volunteered their time preparing, and (in advance…) for your donations to help us all. Together we’ll be able to complete the necessary repairs, as the parish of St. Thomas More.

Thank you ALL for your help this year!