Happy Fourth of July

06-30-2019Weekly ReflectionFr. James Aboyi

Happy Independence Day!

Wishing you all a very Happy 4th of July on Thursday of this week! As we celebrate the 242 years of independence, we thank God and ask for more blessings and protection for our country. Let us also remember the heroes who gave their lives to give us the freedom and prosperity that we enjoy today. On a personal note, this week has been a special week to me for several reasons. I can’t believe that one year has already gone by since I came to St. Benedict Parish. I will be one year old in this parish on July 1st this week. Coincidentally, I will also be 15 years old as a priest on Wednesday, July 3rd. I thank God who, in His wonderful way, has led me thousands of miles from Africa to live with you here in this parish community. I also thank you for accepting me and making me feel welcome and at home.

Parish Finance

On behalf of the parish community, I would like to thank Mr. Paul Spatz for his excellent services to our parish community as the president of the Parish Finance Council for the past 8 years. Paul’s term of office comes to an end this month. We look forward to his continuous involvement in ministry within our parish community. On a similar note, I would like to congratulate Mr. Jim Tighe on his new appointment as the President of the Finance Council. We look forward to his leadership as he leads us through these financially challenging times in our parish.

The end of June also marks the end of our parish fiscal year. I must apologize to you for not giving you the Annual Finance Report for the fiscal year 2017/18. The omission was not intentional but mostly due to the transition period. I assure you that I will give you two Annual Reports by October this year for the fiscal years 2017/18 and 2018/19. I am sure you might have noticed that our plate income has been trailing behind the weekly budget reports in the bulletin. Although it appears like we are in red, technically we are not actually in red when we compare our income vs expenses this year. We set our budget target a little high through this fiscal year with the hope of increasing our cash reserve after balancing the budget. The goal was to raise the cash reserve up to $250,000 each year to give us a good chance of geম ng the much-needed bank loan for our new church building. Again, I will give you the Annual Reports by October as well as an update on the proposed timeline for the new Church. I thank you so much for your support, patience and understanding.

Thank You and Remain Blessed,

Fr. James

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