Dear Holy Cross community,
On November 14 and 15, 2015, we began the process of working to increase our weekly offertory. I encouraged all of our families to prayerfully consider raising your weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly giving because we were coming to a crossroads: the way were going was heading in the direction of no longer being sustainable to pay our bills, our mortgage and our salaries.
I was hoping that we would come together as a community to solve our parish financial difficulties. This past Tuesday Yvonne Fisher, Nadine Goodwin Blake and I had a conference call with the coordinator of the For It Is In Giving That We Receive program that we are using and the news is quite good.
Yvonne and Nadine sent Our Sunday Visitor, the organizers of the program, approximately 300 family names and addresses of parishioners who are still considered "active."
As a parish community, we had a 54% response rate; in other words, 176 persons/families responded by submitting a commitment card. Our liaison for Our Sunday Visitor said that this was an outstanding number as the average is a 29% participation rate.
What was very humbling for me as your pastor was that many of the people who stopped tithing have once again started. I will not bore you with any more numbers, but suffice it to say, the Holy Cross Family was asked to help and overwhelmingly responded.
To everyone who had submitted a commitment card, to everyone who increased their offertory, and to everyone who said they would pray for the success of the program, thank you. Thank you from the bottom of my heart. We could not do what we do at Holy Cross without all of you; all of your time, talent, and yes, treasure has made Holy Cross an inviting, prayer-filled house of God.
Peace
Fr. Andy
Among those confirmed were four of our young parishioners: Darren LaVille, Kent Anagor, Charles Enwelvzor and Mikalya Richards.
Congratulations and many blessings to them. Please keep these and all our youth
in prayer.
