AUGUST! Can you believe it’s already August?

AUGUST! Can you believe it’s already August? And we are STILL struggling with this coronavirus pandemic! I don’t know what’s worse, the pandemic or the political turmoil as we gear up for a presidential election? One thing is for certain, these are very surreal and challenging days!

My sincere gratitude to all of you who are remaining faithful to the Lord and assisting your neighbors. I am particularly grateful to those of you who stepped forward to help serve our parish. This parish of Holy Spirit is extremely important to this community. You provide not only a source of spiritual hope and inspiration, but also many corporal works of mercy from serving thousands of families over these many months through our food pantry, to thousands of phone calls made to all of our registered parishioners as well as the many cards sent to those who are sick or grieving the loss of loved ones, to many sacrifices so many of you have made to support our parish financially and through other in kind donations!

 I certainly cannot list, in this short space, all of the activities going on in our parish even during this time where we are so restricted. But let me acknowledge a few.  The Fundraising Committee and interested volunteers have developed drive through dinners to meet some of our financial needs and created the 2020 Grand Raffle with a $10,000 first prize which will finish August 8.  Groups have stepped up to take carry-out bag lunches for Feed My Sheet and our dedicated bakers have reworked the Easter bread production line and moved it to  St. Camillus site so that we will be able to take orders in August for an early treat.

Especially I wish to thank those of you stepping forward to help with sacred ministry as we diligently prepare to enter back into church buildings for our weekend liturgies. This past week, we hosted another training for greeters/ushers. Our Covid-19 Safety Team, headed by Fr. Brendan Dawson, has met weekly to set up Covid-19 guidelines for church liturgies and meetings. Covid-19 information is available on page 12 of the bulletin each week.

We are still in need of catechists to help teach our children. The coronavirus restrictions are forcing us to have smaller classes and at a variety of times. See our website promo at What does being a Catechist look like? We're glad you asked...  If you can at all help share the faith with the next generation, please contact Cathy Frank at Faith Formation at 724.654.9371 X 1.

A huge Thank you to our anonymous donner who has pledged to match any and all donations up to $100,000. to Holy Spirit Academy! This past week alone we have reached over $28,000 in matched giving!  You can give on line through our parish website, hsplc.org, or the school website, https://holyspiritacademylc.com/,  Or you can donate through the monthly parish envelope for the school or by check payable to Holy Spirit Academy. Please add “Matching Donation” to the memo line!!   May God reward you for your sacrificial gift for our children!

Please invite all you know to join in this exciting opportunity to assist our kids and families in need of a brighter future and solid education!

            God love you,