Fr. Rick’s Pastoral Messages 7-31-22

Hospitality:  Remember that we are a ‘Hospitality Parish’ with a major outreach to our many visitors. Please sign up to help host our Sunday morning Coffee and Muffin gathering. Sign up list is in the gathering space.

NEXT WEEK:  Annual collection for the Retired members of Religious Orders in the United States.  Please see the insert in today’s bulletin for some inspirational stories.

Knights Roundtable Meeting: Sunday, July 31st the Knights will meet in the library following Mass.  We start with the Rosary, followed by business.  Any men at St. Christopher interested in discovering Knight’s activities, grab a cup of coffee and a snack and join us.  Meetings are less formal than the Knights Council meetings.  Noel Poe, Roundtable Coordinator

St. Christopher’s Library

Come on in and browse during our social hour after the Sunday Mass.   Books are organized by category, plainly marked on the shelves. If your knowledge of an aspect of our faith is weak, we have books for just about every concept, including those that explain all the tenets under https://www.usccb.org/committees/evangelization-catechesis/stewardship”Basic Catholicism”. So please check it out! No library card needed! 

“Do not let a day go by without some spiritual reading.”- St. John Bosco   

Walking with Mothers in Need in Utah:  Gearing up for the ‘post Roe’ world.  https://www.dioslc.org/respect-for-life/walking-with-moms-in-need

St. Christopher’s 6-30-22 Fiscal Year-end Statements

FY 2022 was a healthy one for St. Christopher’s.  Regular Collections and donations were up slightly from pre-Covid years, thanks in large part to the generosity of our many visitors.   Our regular operating costs were down substantially due primarily to the restructuring of administrative duties and also lower assessments and fees paid to Diocesan entities.  Our cost reductions allowed us to increase our savings deposit (D&L) at the Diocese by 54% while still allowing us to make necessary improvements and repairs to our facilities.  We received $5300 in donations for repairs and improvements (R&I).

The parish contributed $5500 to local charity outreach needs. Our donations to the monthly special collections solicited by the US Catholic Bishops for the domestic and global Church totaled $12,750.  These funds go to help meet the needs of some of the poorest and most vulnerable in our midst which is a central part of the Church’s mission.  As stated, these are special collections and do not come from our regular local Church operations.  Likewise, the parish contributed $9500 to the Bishop’s Annual Appeal aka Diocesan Development Drive for the 2021 calendar year.  THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR EXTRAORDINARY GENEROSITY!!  We do a lot with our tiny group of participating Catholics.

The financial statements for Fiscal 2022 will be posted on the social hall bulletin board.  Please feel free to direct any questions to Finance Council members Noel Poe (chairman), Jim Pashia, Meredith Langley or Fr. Rick.

Stewardship from U.S. Council of Catholic Bishops – To help answer the question, “So why not just build a bigger barn?!”  https://www.usccb.org/committees/evangelization-catechesis/stewardship

Also see ‘Stewardship: A Disciples Response’ from the U.S. Bishops.

Homily Reflection

Windshield Survey.  A few years ago while ministering in a different parish I, along with a group of fellow parishioners, attended a workshop in SLC presented by Catholic Relief Services.  One of the exercises we were challenged to do when we returned to our local parishes was to conduct a ‘windshield survey’.  We were reminded that genuine stewardship directs us to acknowledge that everything good comes from God and that we should share in proportion to what God has given to us, with a special attention to the needs of the most vulnerable.  Then drive around the parish neighborhood, 20- to 50-mile radius, and do a needs assessment.  We were then challenged to focus our parish mission in the areas of most need…  STEWARDSHIP