Welcome to Clare Gisla!

07-19-2021Weekly Flocknote MessageFr. James Aboyi, V.C.

I welcome Clare Gisla to our St. Benedict staff and community as the new Youth Ministry Coordinator. Along with her deep commitment to sharing the Catholic faith with others, Clare brings a wealth of experience in youth ministry, teaching and music. Her first day at work will be Monday, July 19. I assure Clare of my prayers and support in her new role and also ask for your prayers and support for her. Let us show her our St. Benedict welcoming spirit as she joins our community next week.

Congratulations to Russ Spencer

Congratulations to Russ Spencer for being elected as the new Vice President of the St. Benedict Pastoral Council during the last council meeting. Russ will be assisting the President, Frank Polimene, to lead the council through this fiscal year. Traditionally, the Vice President succeeds the President when the President’s term ends. I assure Russ of my support along with the council members in his new responsibility.

Congratulations to the St. John Bosco School Community

Congratulations to our St John Bosco school community for being awarded a grant in the amount of $25,000 by the Diocese of Phoenix. The grant is being awarded through the Charity and Development Appeal (CDA) disbursement, and is designated for tuition assistance. This will go a long way to assist families in need in our school community. We thank our Bishop, Thomas Olmsted and the CDA office for considering our school for the grant.  

Building Update

I thank you for your continued patience as we go through this period of permission and review process with the City of Phoenix and the Diocese. The process is moving along very well and I assure you that we are on target with our timeline of breaking ground in November this year. All of the building committees are working hard behind the scenes and are on target too. Moving forward, I will be giving you an update from the different committees to share with you what each committee is doing.  Here is a report from the Core Committee (Building Committee) highlighting the 10 phases of the building process:

  1. Needs Assessment Phase: This phase is completed.
  2. Schematic Design Phase: This phase is completed.            
  3. Initial Construction Estimate: This phase is completed
  4. Announcement and Feedback from Parishioners: This phase is completed.
  5. Detail Design: This phase is completed and awaiting Diocesan approval.
  6. Preliminary City of Phoenix Review: In progress
  7. Updated Construction Estimate: In progress
  8. Construction Documents: In progress
  9. Obtain Construction Bids: Expected soon
  10. Groundbreaking with Bishop Olmsted: Expected in November 2021
  11. Opening Mass: Expected in Fall of 2022

I will share more reports from the other committee in the weeks ahead.

Have a wonderful weekend and remain blessed,

Fr. James Aboyi, VC
Pastor

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