March 5, 2023
My Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
We enter into the Second Sunday of Lent where in the Gospel we hear the account of the Transfiguration of Jesus. The account shows that Jesus is the Son of God and His transfiguration shows His glory. The invitation by God to “listen to Him” is an encouragement to grow in our relationship with God as He personally came to dwell with us so that He can show us the way to the Father.
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 your
life. Known for his story telling, Fr Jim weaves everyday life experiences with the rooted message which lie within the Gospel.
We had a wonderful MARQUEE celebration last Saturday. 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 award 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.
The Raise the Paddle project for the MARQUEE is for a new H/Vac system for the Gym. This will provide air conditioning for the gym. The cost for the new H/Vac system is $200,000. At the time of writing this letter we are at $60,810. You can donate to the Raise the Paddle project online at https://ppay.co/e1Abf13sypc or you can drop off your donation at the Parish Office. We thank you for your support. We also have our own “limited edition” Mary Our Queen Commemorative 60th Anniversary bottle of Oak and Eden – Bourbon and Spire that you can purchase at https://my.onecause.com/…/vevt…/shop/fixed-price as well as several sign up parties that are being hosted.
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. 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