February 26, 2023

My Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

We had our Parish’s Annual Fundraiser – the MARQUEE on Satur- day.  The theme for our MARQUEE this year is – One for the Generations which celebrates our 60th Anniversary.  Our MARQUEE celebration is in light of all that has been done to build up our community for the last 60 years.  We honored Jack and Stephanie Koraleski and Ed and Kelly Prosser with the Spirit of Mary Our Queen at the MARQUEE.  We are blessed with all they have done for our Parish.  Thank you, our MARQUEE Chairs Mike and Rachelle Heser and Adam and Tiffany Heser, and for all who were involved in making this event a success.

We entered the season of Lent beginning with Ash Wednesday last week. At the All School Mass, I wished everyone a miserable Lent.  While Lent is not meant to be miserable,  the invitation of Prayer, Fasting and Almsgiving is meant to bring about renewal to our lives.  The ashes marked on our foreheads on Ash Wednesday with the invitation to repent and believe in the Gospel challenges us to look at the Gospel in a radical way knowing that Christ fought evil with love.  Each week in Lent we invite you to follow the way of the Cross by praying the Stations of the Cross.  The Stations of the Cross is offered each Wednesday at 6pm during Lent.  We also invite you to take the time to make a good confession.

Please mark your calendars for March 11 to 15 for our Lenten Mission. This year we are fortunate to have Fr James Sichko who will be presenting our Lenten Mission.  Each evening beginning at 7pm, we invite you to spend 60 minutes for Jesus and let Scripture, Storytelling, Laughter and Praise with Fr James Sichko impact you life.  Know for his story telling, Fr Jim weaves everyday life experiences with the rooted message which lie within the Gospel.

Each month, Mary Our Queen’s first Sunday second collection is designated to feed the hungry in our city.  Since its inception, your generous contributions have been sent directly to the Food Bank.  We then identified to the Food Bank which pantries should receive a credit for food purchases.  With Mary Our Queen and St John Vianney forming a family of Parishes, going forward we will be directing this monthly second collection to St John Vianney.  They will in turn use these funds to stock their onsite pantry.  This will also enable Mary Our Queen Human Needs to refer requests for food to their pantry. Over a span of 15 years, your contributions have totaled $296,800.  It is our sincere hope that you will continue your support of this vital ministry.

There will be several projects taking place this summer.  The first involves the installation of new hot water piping with a variable volume terminal unit with a heating water coil in each classroom which connects to the existing ductwork in the upper level of our School this Summer.  The hot water piping in the lower level of our School had been replaced over the last two Summers.  The other part is the installation of a new H/VAC system in the Gym.  This will complete the phasing out of the old steam piping in our School.  The cost of the new H/VAC system in the Gym is $200,000 and we are hoping that this year’s MARQUEE Raise the Paddle would cover the cost of the installation.   We are also looking at the replacement of the roof in the Kenny Center which is in need of replacement.

We are in the midst of changing our database, communications and online giving software.  While this is taking longer than we had expected, however this new software would give us the opportunity to integrate our Church software to something which is more comprehensive instead of using multiple software applications that requires the replication of different tasks.  We will be sending communications to inform you of the process and how you are able to log into this new software with ease.  As we enter the new year, you will be hearing about our Stewardship renewal plans for our Parish.  This will not be just monetary, but it will incorporate the financial, ministry and spiritual needs of our parish and school community.

God’s Blessings,

Fr Marc