Pentecost Sunday

News and Notes: You may have noticed that the roof on OLA Church looks brand new.  That’s because over the past several months, the broken, displaced slate tiles have been repaired/replaced and the roof has been power washed.  We tapped funds collected from the OLA Promise for Tomorrow Campaign in the early 2000’s to pay for this much needed project.  Beginning the first week of June, contractors will be in OLA Church to replace the ceiling tiles that have been damaged by leaks over the years.  This project will take about six weeks and should not affect our Mass schedule.  Our Insurance Company through the Archdiocese will be paying for this work.  Also on the maintenance agenda for OLA depending on available funds going forward: redoing the front stairs of the Church; replacing the front doors of the Church and the doors of the Collaborative Pastoral-Business Office; vinyl siding of the White House; and audio-visual equipment.  At SMG, we should have the results of an engineering study on the heating system in the next few weeks.  We collected about $40,000 in the SMG Capital Campaign during this fiscal year, much of which ($26,565.59) has already been spent paying for repairs to the leaking heating pipes this past winter.   The engineering study that is underway will produce options for us to consider so that we may move forward on a comprehensive plan to fix the heating system which is obviously failing us.  We may very well have to raise more money to complete this project in the near future.  Needless to say, we must be good stewards, not only of the content of our Catholic faith, but of our buildings and property in our parishes as well.   Here is an update on the 2016 Catholic Appeal: as of May 3, SMG parishioners had pledged $43,197, which is 155% of their goal of $27,797; and OLA parishioners had pledged $53,358, which is 97% of their goal of $54,938.  Many thanks to those who have already made a pledge to the Catholic Appeal this year!  To those who have not yet done so, please consider a generous pledge that will be a blessing to the fifty plus ministries of our Archdiocese and your respective parish as well.  May the Holy Spirit be with you in the week ahead!