Pastor’s Letter: April 28th, 2024
My Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
This weekend is the Fifth Sunday of Easter. In the Gospel reading, we hear how Jesus presents himself as the vine and we are the branches. It speaks upon our union with Jesus. Jesus not only invites us to remain in Him and allow His work to bear fruit in our lives. One thing you would notice during the Season of Easter, the first reading is taken from the Acts of the Apostles instead from the Old Testament. The reason for the focus of the Acts of the Apostles is to show the fruits of the Resurrection of Jesus. In this weekend’s reading from the Acts of the Apostles, we hear how Saul who became Paul, turned from a persecutor of the early church to becoming a staunch advocate after his encounter with the Resurrected Jesus. We too are invited to not only encounter Jesus in our lives, but help others encounter Jesus.
April 24th is a significant day for our Parishes as it marks Fr Richard Reiser’s 70th birthday. Happy Birthday to Fr Reiser.
As part of doing things together as a Family of Parishes, we will be offering two sessions of Vacation Bible School this year. The First Session runs from June 3rd to June 7th and the Second Session runs from June 10th to 14th. The first Session will be run by St John Vianney, and the Second Session will be run by Mary Our Queen. The location of our Vacation Bible School will be at St John Vianney. Check out our Parish Bulletin for registration information.
Work began on the playground at Mary Our Queen. The old climbing geodome has been removed to make way for the installation of a new playground climbing structure. New swings will be installed to the existing swing frame, and we will replace the two slides from the existing playground structure. The old rubber mulch will be removed, and the grounds will be prepared for a new poured surfacing rubber. This includes a sub-base and edging (the old plastic edging will be replaced by a concrete edging). Please note that in the meanwhile, the playground will be out of commission until the work gets done. Temporary fencing currently surrounds the playground to prevent anyone from using the playground. This project should be done by the end of May.
With the renovation of the playground, it has come to our attention that we need to replace the 4 benches by the playground. We are looking to replace the benches with 2 new picnic tables like the ones by the gym entrance. The cost of the installation of the base for the tables and the tables is $5000. We are appealing for a donor or two donors to help cover the cost of the new picnic tables. Thank you in advance for your generosity.
Because of your generosity to the Capital Campaign at St John Vianney and Mary Our Queen, we are able to pay down our debt at St John Vianney and to defray the cost of the roof replacement. We are also able to pay for the replacement of the mechanicals at Mary Our Queen. Through the Capital Campaign of Mary Our Queen, we were able to start a new scholarship fund for Mary Our Queen School in honor of our Founding Pastor Msgr. Kenny. The scholarship fund will be used to assist active parishioners who need tuition assistance. Msgr. Kenny and our founding members made a lot of sacrifices to ensure that our school was available for all who desire a Catholic Education and this scholarship continues in the spirit of our founding Pastor. More details of this scholarship will be made available in the near future. If you would like to contribute to this scholarship fund, kindly contact our Parish Office.
I will be undergoing surgery on Monday and will be away recuperating from my surgery for about a week or two. Please keep me in your prayers.
Easter Blessings to all of you.
Fr Marc