Happy Father's Day
I wish all fathers and father-figures in our parish community a Happy Father's Day and God’s blessings! We are thankful for the sacrificial love our fathers share with us throughout our lives. On this day, we honor and celebrate the indispensable role fathers play in our families and society. The presence of fathers in the lives of their children is critical to their faith as our relationship with our fathers often mirror the nature of our relationship with God. Let us pray for many children who, due to no fault of theirs, are experiencing the challenges of the absence of a father in their lives. Let us also remember to pray for all fathers who are facing different challenges in their personal and family lives. I encourage all fathers to look up to St. Joseph, the husband of the Blessed Mother, as their role model. Despite his holiness, he experienced challenges as he sacrificed his own personal dreams in order to fulfill God’s will by protecting his wife and child, Jesus. I pray again for God’s special blessings upon you through the intercession of St. Joseph on this day.
End of Fiscal Year Changes
As you may know, the month of June is the end of our parish fiscal year. Besides closing our books this month, the month of June also marks the end of membership terms for some Parish Council members, as well as a change of leadership in other ministries. Below are some of these changes that took place this month.
Thank You Grand Knight
I thank our Grand Knight of the Fr. Bob Binta Council, Rudy Cavolina, for his outstanding leadership of the Council through the past two years. He led the Knights through the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic which was one of the most challenging times in the history of our parish. Despite the challenges, the Fr. Bob Binta Council won the Knights of Columbus Star Award and the “Council of the Year Award” under Rudy’s two years of leadership. Again, I thank him for his excellent leadership and support for our parish and school community.
On the same note, I would like to congratulate Isauro Amaro on his election as our new Grand Knight for the Fr. Bob Binta Council. I also congratulate all the newly elected Officers of our K of C Council for their services and support for our community. I look forward to serving with the new leadership team in the next two years.
Thank You to Council Members
On behalf of our parish community, I thank Frank Polimene for his excellent leadership as President of the Parish Pastoral Council through the past two years. Frank led our Council through the most challenging time with the COVID-19 pandemic and our Church construction process. Again, I thank Frank for his outstanding leadership, prayers and support for our parish community. Frank will remain on the Council for the next three years.
I also thank Parish Pastoral Council Members Julie Davis and Jay Iole, as well as Finance Council Member Joseph Companik, who stepped down from their roles last week. Julie and her family are moving from Arizona to Pennsylvania while Jay stepped down to spend more time with his family. Similarly, Joseph stepped down because he and his family moved out of town. I thank them for their excellent service to our parish community through the Council.
My congratulations to Russ Spencer who was elected as the new President of the Pastoral Council. My congratulations also to Chris Smith and Jerry Biegler who were elected to join the Pastoral Council last week. I also congratulate Anna Howard on her appointment to the Parish Finance Council. I thank them for their willingness to step forward to serve our community through the Council.
Walking With Moms in Need
I thank Molly Goins for her excellent leadership in the Magnificat Moms and Walking with Moms in Need Ministries through the past two years. Besides her leadership here in our parish community, Molly has also been our parish representative to the Diocese in the Walking With Moms in Need ministry. In the past two years, Molly and her team have helped to identify the resources available for mothers in need within and around our community and have reached out to several of them.
Molly informed me last week that she would like to step down from her leadership role to spend more time with her family. Again, I thank Molly for her leadership and for her willingness to help with the transition to the new leadership.
On this note, I ask for any mother in our parish who feels called to help us lead or join this ministry to please give me a call or email me. Thank you.