My Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
We invite you to join us on January 30th and 31st for the St John Vianney Winter Rub. St John Vianney will be hosting a Casino Night with a People’s Choice Competition BBQ Wings on January 30th and on January 31st St John Vianney will be hosting the Annual KCBS Master Series BBQ Competition. At the KCBS Master Series BBQ Competition, St John Vianney will be offering a Beef Brisket or Pulled Pork Meal. Your participation will help the St John Vianney Outreach program where we assist those in need during difficult times. Our Church has always had a preferential option for the poor. It speaks upon living the Gospel through our lives. At our Family of Parishes, we do various fundraisers to assist the less fortunate in our Family of Parishes. St John Vianney’s Winter Rub is one of such events. In addition, every first Sunday of each month, there is a second collection in support of our Human Needs at Mary Our Queen and Outreach program at St John Vianney. As always, the need is always greater each year. Thank you for your generosity.
We also invite you to join our Men’s Club Annual Wild Game Feed at Mary Our Queen on Saturday February 7. This is our Men’s Club Annual Fundraiser whose proceeds support many of our Parish and School Programs at Mary Our Queen. I am also grateful for the $10,000 that the Men’s Club has been donating to Mary Our Queen each year to assist in the updating of our Parish Campus. We are grateful for all that they do.
This weekend we celebrate the Third Sunday in Ordinary Time. In the Gospel reading we hear the words of Isaiah being fulfilled in Jesus’ residence at Capernaum. The territory of Zebulun and Naphtali were the first two tribes to be destroyed by the Assyrian invasion (733-32 BC). The Good News that Jesus brings tells us that the kingdom of heaven has already begun to be present which is why he invited his first few disciples to “Come after me, and I will make you fishers of men”. The response of Jesus’ early disciples speak of the kingdom of heaven – that it is worth giving up everything for. Leaving a former way of life means that we are entering a new life in Christ.
Mary Our Queen was awarded a matching grant of up to $200,000 through the Lavigne Foundation and the Archdiocese of Omaha. This opportunity will support important campus improvements and security upgrades, including security software, door and access-control enhancements, improved communication systems between the Parish Office and School, and the replacement of aging boilers. This grant will significantly strengthen the safety and long-term infrastructure of our parish community. As it is a challenge grant, Mary Our Queen will need to meet the match to receive this grant. If you are able to assist us in this matching grant, kindly send your donation to Mary Our Queen Parish Office or contact our Parish Office for more details. Thank you for all that you do.
Because of the matching grant that we have been awarded, we are currently working out the boiler replacement bid for Mary Our Queen Church. These new boilers will replace our old steam boilers that were installed some 40 years ago. This will be the final piece of the puzzle that we undertook several years ago in replacing the aging mechanicals on the Mary Our Queen Campus. We would like to thank you for all that you have done to make this possible.
We continue to iron out the heating issues we have been facing int St John Vianney’s Basement Classrooms. Last week, we were able to identify the problem that was causing this issue and hopefully this will be addressed soon.
Blessings for the week,
Fr Marc
