Here is an easy and consistent way to support the Restoration Campaign for our historic Church. Purchase your Support Cards for various amounts from the rectory office or at St. Mary’s Church.

Each week at the church will be a table to sell the Support Cards. These Support Cards can be used at local businesses such as Value-Mart, Loblaws, National Groceries, LaMantia, Food Basic, Canadian Tire, Tim Hortons, Home Hardware, M&M Meats, Boston Pizza. Six percent of all the money you spend at these participating stores while using the Support Cards comes back to St. Mary’s Parish for the Restoration fund. That’s it! Everybody has to buy groceries and other house things, or gas so this is an easy way to give a very needed boost to our ongoing restoration campaign. You get the cards; use them like cash at your favourite stores and the percentage works for the Church.

Support Cards sold to-date total $37,367.00. We have received around $1,868.00 profit which continues to increase your contribution towards the restoration fund. So please keep buying your support cards while they continue to be sold at the church rear door after each Mass.

Here is an easy and consistent way to support the Restoration Campaign for our historic Church.

The fundraising Campaign will be buying prepaid cards for various amounts at local businesses such as all the local grocery stores, Canadian Tire even – yes- Tim Hortons – and you can buy them here at the church.

Six percent of all the money spent comes back for the Restoration fund. That’s it!

Everybody has to buy groceries and other house stuff and this is an easy way to give a very needed boost to our ongoing campaign.

You get the cards; use them like cash at your favourite stores and the percentage works for the Church.

We’ll have the co-ordinators at the doors to run this initiative. We hope to kick off in a few weeks.

Following through on the priorities that the parishioners submitted back in May, the parish Pastoral Council was established. The hundreds of submissions were grouped together and set out as objectives.

1> By far the first of needs was a youth/young adult ministry. The wages for the ministry have been largely supplied by the Priests For Life Canada to compensate the parish for my time. ( I serve as the National Director of Priests for Life, speaking , travelling and organizing for this branch of the pro-life movement). The position was advertised, resumes gathered and interview team of Mark Cossarin (principal – I.E.
Weldon Secondary), Zita Devan (Chair –Finance Committee), Avery King (Youth rep. – pastoral Council), and Annette Watson (parent) and myself interviewed the candidate and approved him. Permission was granted by the diocese and we hired Bradley Waggoner. He is 26 and a graduate of Trent and Teachers’ College. He began on Tuesday with a year contract and will work with our youth. He’ll introduce himself at
Masses and I am sure you will hear from him many times. Please welcome him to our parish. The CWL and Knights are also contributing funds to the ministry budget. His office is at the rectory and please contact him here.
The welcome to our Fleming students is paying off with some young people worshipping with us and Brad and I had a Fleming campus tour on Wednesday. As well, he introduced himself to St. Thomas Aquinas High School at Mass that day.

2> Concerns about finances were prominent. As you probably know, the parish finance committee was re-constituted and meets quarterly to review our budget and monitor costs. The 2008 financial report and 2009 budget was presented after Masses a few months ago. In early 2010 this will be repeated. In late Oct. the diocesan financial report for 2008 will also be presented in this way. The Guy Mills Court and restoration Campaign financial reports and snapshots are being prepared and will be presented as soon as they are ready. The fundraising committee is working hard to get the campaign back on track. Please support the both the monthly Restoration collection through your envelopes and also the events – the first of which is out Hallowe’en Dance. Get your tickets now!!

3> The Property and Maintenance committee has met numerous times. We have had a complete walk-through of the rectory to evaluate the state of the plant and prioritize needs. That report will be forthcoming. We are moving ahead with the analysis of the state of the “Bricks problem” at the church. Because the bricks are painted it means
that we have to get expert opinions about the extent of the problems and we are getting those quotes. I have been speaking to the restoration experts about the interior work.

4> Nursing home masses are scheduled monthly and we are working to re-establish monthly home visits to the shut-in and ill homebound Catholics. Please let us know about any home visits you would want. It is all too easy for these faithful parishioners to “fall through the cracks.” The hospital emergency calls seem to be working well. Masses have begun at the Jail and schedules and pastoral needs are at the beginning of being hammered out. A transportation group has been established under Wayne Klein. Can you help?

5> The 150th Anniversary committee is rolling along with approximately on event a month as well as ongoing projects such as the parish photo directory and the updated parish history. We hope this helps with creating a “welcoming atmosphere” as may priority list emphasized.
6> Liturgy concerns were about 4th as a group and they are gradually being addressed. We especially need servers (and people to train and oversee them), other lectors, Extra-ordinary Eucharistic ministers, and Children’s Liturgy leaders.

7> About 2nd on the priority list were concerns about reaching out to the fallen away and those distanced from the Church. This has been taken up by the Pastoral Council. Any ideas? We hope to have a parish mission soon if we can find a preacher but in the interim we will have visiting homilists and speakers.

I hope this update helps. Any feedback?