To answer Jesus’s call and carry out His mission, we must leave everything behind. Have we ever thought of what we need to leave behind to follow Christ? Leaving behind our old ways of thinking, acting, and selflessness will help us to follow Christ more closely. As we witness in the Gospels this week, Jesus beginning his public ministry; we are called to embrace our mission by moving from darkness to light.
The Fourth Annual Chili Cook Off and Banana Pudding Contest will be held today immediately following the Noon Mass in Guyot Hall. This will be a fun filled event, which Chili teams will prepare their particular recipe for chili con carne and submit it for our taste testing. The proceeds raised will go to benefit our STHY Youth ministry programs. Thank you all for coming out and supporting the young people of our parish.
Please keep in prayer throughout the next few weeks for our 40 high school youth who will be having their Confirmation Retreat on January 27th – 29th. Our Coordinator of Youth and Young Adult Ministry, Lauren Koath along with our Faith Formation team consisting of Ms. Barbara Mackie and Mrs. Pamella Johnson and the Confirmation team have all been working very hard over the past few months to make sure that all the details for the retreat ready for our Confirmandi. Axillary Bishop George Sheltz will be the Celebrant for the Confirmation Mass which is scheduled for June 2017. Thanks to Ms. Koath and the Faith Formation and Confirmation Team for all of your hard work with the young people for Confirmation 2017.
Next weekend, January 28th and 29th there will be a special second Collection for the Church in Latin America. This collection supports pastoral projects that enrich the lives of believers throughout Latin America and the Caribbean. The Collection for the Church in Latin America empowers the faithful of Latin America to deepen their faith and share it with each other and the world. For more information on the Church in Latin America and the projects funded by the collection, please visit www.usccb.org/nationalcollections. Thank you in advance for your generosity.
Next, Have you noticed the new St. Vincent De Paul Collection container in the Narthex of the Church and Guyot Hall ? There is an ongoing need for food items in our greater community. To assist a greater number of people in need of food, we are asking everyone to bring in donated food items on a regular basis for the St. Vincent De Paul food pantry. The SVD food pantry is always in need of nutritious nonperishable items such as peanut butter, tuna, canned meats, vegetables, pasta, pasta sauce, canned fruit, rice, beans and shelf stable milk. The STHY food collection will be an ongoing project for the community. Please feel free to drop your donations in the collection box during the weekend. Thank you for your great generosity.
Mark your calendars for February 25th. The people of St. Hyacinth have been invited to a special fellowship event with Peace Lutheran Church of Pasadena. The topic of the prayer breakfast will be “One Lord, One Faith, One Baptism” from Ephesians chapter 4:5; and I have been ask to be the guest speaker for the event. As the Ecumenical Officer of the Archdiocese, it has been my duty to encourage the Catholic Faithfull of the Archdiocese to work with the other faiths in our community to bring about peace and understanding. If you are interested in attending this event, please RSVP me at [email protected] or call the office.
I send out my sincere thanks to all who made a pledge for our Building Faith, Family and Future Capital Campaign over the past several months. I truly appreciate your generosity and support. 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. When you complete your pledge envelope, drop it in the collection box, offertory basket, or mail it or bring it by the office at any time. Remember, we ask every family to consider an equal sacrifice, not an equal size gift. As we enter we enter the New Year, we can all do our part, and every pledge, of every size, is most needed and welcomed. Thank you for doing your part to help us reach our goal.