I was very pleased by the positive response to the church revitalization project. I am thrilled to tell you that so far, 11 large pews and 4 small pews have been taken by individual families. As of this writing, we have 6 large and 16 small pews remaining. A couple of groups and families have wondered if they could join to donate a pew, and the answer is, of course. Our goal currently is to raise $270,000; approximately $216,000 will be from the donations for pews and the remainder of $54,000 through our varying levels of donations. The majority of this will be used to purchase the pews and the painting of the church. A plaque will be placed in the narthex that will honor everyone who has contributed to this project and for pews, donation plaques will be placed on the ends of the pews. Looking at all our costs, I encourage you, our parishioners to prayerfully make a decision as to what you can best contribute to updating our church. I really appreciated your comments last weekend and as I often say, it takes a village. We are blessed to have such a loyal, wonderful parish and as we know, we are all at different stages of life with different commitments, but together as a parish family our joint efforts will make St. Luke church a welcoming gathering space for masses, baptisms, weddings, and funerals for many decades to come. If you have any questions at all, please contact Ron Cohen at [email protected] or Joe Perno at [email protected]. Please keep in mind that all donations are due by May 31st.
A big thank you to our St. Luke Antioch adult advisory group, Tony, Isabel, Billy, Joan, Jeff, Nina, Tim, Quinn, Doug, Shannon, Mary, Don, and Kerry and to the St. Lawrence Adult leadership, to Kiley and James who were our young co-leaders this year and our twenty-six young adult leadership team members. Forty-four candidates attended this spirited and joy-filled experience which began on Friday evening with 4 pm Mass and concluded on Sunday with 4 pm Mass. Definitely, the highlight was Saturday night’s Service of Light followed by confessions. What a joy it is to see so many young people claiming their faith and working together to support each other in their ordinary lives. Our St. Luke kids are encouraged to attend the 6 pm Mass here at St. Luke and then gather at St. Lawrence for the follow-up meetings. We look forward to hosting our next Antioch here at St. Luke in September.
A big thanks to Deacon Ray and the Operation Chillout leadership who last Sunday celebrated 22 years of loyal service to men and women, many of whom are forgotten heroes. I was honored to give the blessing at a delicious lunch on Sunday afternoon. Congratulations on your years of service! On Monday, June 6, the VFW Morris Plains will host a golf outing for the benefit of Operation Chillout at the Farmstead Golf and Country Club in Lafayette. Please see the bulletin for more information.
Looking ahead to Mother’s Day next week, I invite you to please return your Mass intentions by Monday, May 2nd , so we can give God thanks for our living and deceased mothers and grandmothers.