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Pastor Weekly Message For July 3 and 4, 2021
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July 4, 2021Jesus is Lord!
Dear: Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
This entire past week people everywhere are still talking about the Saint Mary’s Great Fair. To say that the 77th Saint Mary’s Great Fair broke all records is an understatement. The Super 50/50 totaled $162,055.00 smashing the largest in history by forty or fifty thousand dollars. Congratulations to Erin Jackson the winner of the Super 50/50, with a take home prize of $81,027.50. Thank you to everyone who made the Saint Mary’s Great Fair a huge success, especially our army of volunteers. Everyone who attended the Fair was greeted with great joy and smiles from our workers; this was contagious throughout the entire Fair. If you didn’t get enough of the Saint Mary’s Great Fair, the Fall Country Fair will be held Friday to Sunday, September 24th to the 26th. Please mark your calendars.
But before we get to the Fall events, there are many great summer events that are taking place here at Saint Mary’s. Let me begin with the Encounter - Summer Intensive – School of Ministry. As you know Bishop O’Connell has welcomed Encounter Ministries to establish a New Jersey Campus here at Saint Mary’s. This school draws from the richness of our Catholic heritage as we seek to teach, equip, and activate disciples to demonstrate the love of God through the power of the Holy Spirit in their spheres of influence. Conforming with the teachings and traditions of the Catholic Church, we offer students a dynamic 2-year training program designed to take you to the next level in your ministry. The Summer Intensive – School of Ministry that will be held on Thursday & Friday evening, July 15 & 16, and Saturday July 17th, provides a survey of the content offered in the first four quarters of the Encounter School of Ministry over a fast three-day period. The content covered includes Identity & Transformation, Power & Healing, Hearing God & The Prophetic Gifts, Inner Healing & Freedom. Teaching the Summer Intensive will be Jim Tortorici and myself. All are invited to come and see what the Encounter School of Ministry is all about. Please register at www.DOTCCR.org/summerintensive
Saint Mary’s Life Teen will be traveling by bus to the Franciscan University of Steubenville (Ohio) Youth Conference on the weekend of July 23rd and 24th. These Youth Conferences have been transformational for our teens. We still have room available on the bus. If you have a high school teen in your family who would like to attend this conference, please contact Cassandra or Jake at the parish office. You can watch a promo video on YouTube: Franciscan University Youth Conference 2021 teaser.
After much prayer and discernment, I am pleased to announce that the “Radiant Joy Summer Religious Education Program” will be offered both “in-person” and “virtual” the first two weeks of August, (2nd to 13th.) I want to thank Peggy Dunne and Suzanne Pfirrman who work tirelessly in serving the families of our Religious Education Program. They did an amazing job educating all our students during the pandemic. You both are a gift to our parish. Thank you, Jesus!
Our nation will continue our Independence Day celebration on Monday, July 5th. Holy Mass will be celebrated at 9:00am. Following Mass, parishioners are invited to join in praying the Patriotic Rosary. Let us pray in thanksgiving for the gift of our great nation.
Happy 4th of July! God bless America! Have a blessed week!
In Jesus and Mary,
Father Jeff Kegley
Pastor