“Come and you will see” is the invitation for this week through the Gospel. Jesus invitation to Andrew is our invitation as well. Jesus takes the initiative with us and we are called to respond to that invitation. The challenge of discipleship is to discern and respond to the call within our lives. We make God’s reign a reality in our own time and place through faithfulness to the Gospel values of service and justice.
I want to congratulate and offer my gratitude to everyone here at St. Hyacinth who participated in the 2017 DSF campaign. We have reached our assessed commitment goal of $84,000 for DSF 2017. Cardinal DiNardo has sent his congratulations and appreciation for our efforts with completing this goal. Thank you all for your generosity in completing our goal!!
The Diocesan Services Fund (DSF) is the annual appeal that provides funding for essential ministries and programs that serve the religious, spiritual and human needs of thousands of people from every parish in our Archdiocese. Catechetical programs, hospital and prison ministries, programs for the aging and youth and many more are made possible by the annual DSF. Thank you all for your commitment and generosity.
As we enter 2018, let us all think of ways in which we can make life easier for ourselves and the parish. Recall that our electronic payment system, Faith Direct, is an easy and secure way to see that your offertory contributions to the church are made on a timely basis. It is an easy and wonderful way to contribute to the church. You can register in less than five minutes by logging on to www.faithdirect.net and entering our parish code of TX526. From there a few short steps will have you set up as you wish: weekly, monthly, special collections, etc. You can pay by credit card or bank draft. It’s convenient, fast and secure. Writing checks has become almost obsolete for so many of us, so please add the church to your list of those you contribute to online. It helps us tremendously with less bank fees on our end, too. Thank you for your generosity and support of STHY.
I send out my sincere thanks to all who made a pledge for our Building Faith, Family and Future Capital Campaign. I truly appreciate your generosity and support. Please consider making a year-end pledge. Envelopes are in the Narthex along with our collection box specifically designed for our Capital campaign or you can do so online through the parish website. Now is the time for giving, and we can all do our part, pledge. Thank you for doing your part to help us reach our goal.
There will be several capital repair projects that STHY will be working on during the next several months. First, we will be making repairs to the Church roof at the cost of $15,800 along with the repairs to the Guyot Hall roof at the cost of $24,800. Next, there are plans to address issues with the Center Street parking lot entrance at the cost of $3,000.
Next, we are currently scheduling work to paint and refurbish a number of the classrooms in the Religious Education building. There have been an increase in the number of activities in our facilities over the years and these classrooms need attention. This project should be completed before the new Religious Education school year.
Moreover, we will be addressing some of the wooden boards of the walkway and porte-cochère areas to the main Church. Some of the boards are rotten and will have to be replaced along with fixing the lighting in these areas. Thank you for your generosity to our Capital Improvement fund.
Finally, I do have some bad news in regards to Liturgy and Music. Our Church Organ is no longer working. We will be working in the several months for the best solutions to replace the organ. Liturgy is what this Church is here for and through the sacraments we celebrate Gods love; soo it is imperative that a Church has an organ to provide its people with music for worship. Please continue to pray for our parish.