Bulletin column from September 11, 2022

Dear Friends at Saint Frances Cabrini and Saint Mary’s Immaculate Conception Parish:

Praised be Jesus Christ! Per custom in our parishes, as we move further into September we move into the heart of mission appeal month, renewing our twinning relationships that are near and dear to us. I mentioned in my column from last Sunday some of the fruits and insights gained from international relationships within the Catholic world, and in the weeks ahead we experience another dimension of this by hearing from our friends in Honduras and in Haiti.

Today on the 11th we launch at Saint Mary’s our annual Honduras Missionary Cooperative Appeal, and we do so while welcoming a familiar face, Padre Tito. He and his outreach efforts at San Gaspar Parish in Taulabe have been such a tremendous blessing for us at Saint Mary’s. So many of us sponsor students in Honduras, or directly support our very active Twinning Committee with its many facets and fundraisers, and we are always so enriched and enlivened by the connections we maintain with our friends to the South. Please join me in welcoming our visitors this year and in supporting this great connection with generous hearts.

Later in September, on the 24th and 25th, Saint Frances Cabrini will welcome at all of our Masses some updates and news from our dear friends in Haiti, some of whom we have known since the days of their youth. They will not be able to join us in person this year, but we will see important updates on the remarkable progress we continue to make on our community outreach center, and the ever-widening circles of good that radiate outward from our home-base there in Jacmel. The Haiti outreach is a bright spot of hope in an otherwise very difficult and hard nation so near to our borders. Please be generous as you always are.

In addition to the renewed generosity that we will be asked to demonstrate in this year’s appeals, we will be very fortunate to celebrate a “bonus-layer” of generous giving this fall as we present our twinning partners in both Honduras and in Haiti with portions of our Love One Another Campaign monies that are designated for these key outreaches. I’m very confident that all of these funds, both from the Campaign and also newly given this month, will be put to good use.

Lastly, I do want to mention an added need this year as we move into September which has to do with our local needs in West Bend. Saint Vincent de Paul has approached the parishes, making the pastors in town aware of how much their outreach needs have increased due to our changing economic situation. They are accepting any donations of money that people want to offer. Cabrini is donating all of this year’s Used Book Sale proceeds to SVDP. Saint Mary’s will be donating a large portion of the Fall Rummage Sale profits to SVDP as well. All of this outreach work, locally and nationally, is needed and of the Gospel. We are blessed to be able to engage in supporting all of it. Thank you!