07/19/2026

Dear Friends,

Each summer parishes in the Archdiocese take up a special additional collection called the “Mission Appeal.” Various religious orders and organizations have permission from the Archdiocese to solicit support and are assigned parishes to make their request. We have continued the tradition of taking up these collections, but rather than invite speakers we have simply posted information about the appeal online and in the bulletin and asked parishioners to be generous. (In the past we have found that speakers too often talk for too long or that the loud fans in church paired with a thick accent made them difficult to understand.) The additional collection will be taken up at the Masses next weekend. The cause is HEAL (Home to Enhance African Life), and its mission is to form servant leaders among poor and marginalized children through poverty relief, formal education, advocacy and skills training. More information about this is in this week’s bulletin. We will take up this additional collection next weekend.

Blockades (perhaps scaffolding by now) protect the sidewalk area in front of St Gabriel Catholic School from deteriorated brick and coping stone up top on the parapet wall. The recent June storms wreaked havoc on that roof as well. Once again, our archdiocesan insurance is coming through for us. I don’t have details yet on the repair and re-roofing schedule, but arrangements are being made.
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May your week reflect the encounter with Christ we experienced at Mass today!

​-Rev. James F. Hurlbert