Dear Fellow Parishioners, 

 

Thank you in advance for considering your stewardship contributions to our parish for 2025. Please examine where and how you contribute your time, treasure, and talent. All three are important to our parish.

 

St. Catherine of Siena is a very blessed parish. Nonetheless, we are in a challenging position right now with respect to our attendance, engagement and finances.

 

We have a wonderful school for our children and grandchildren. Over the past couple of years, we hired a well-qualified choir director and Coordinator of Religious Education to address ministries parishioners voiced were sorely lacking. Our musical program has been greatly enhanced. Additionally, our CRE implemented our Family of Faith Program (Loreto), programming for middle and high school students including Totus Tuus (weeklong summer program), and, new this year, Catechesis of the Good Shepherd for three-to-six-year-old children. Each of these initiatives has been well received and is adding exceptional richness to the faith lives of the families involved. However, the additional staff members and programming do carry a cost.

 

We have responded in times of need before and we can do so again. For this academic year, our school has updated tuition to cover more of the education costs per student. We were blessed to secure a grant for $4,500 from the DPAA this year to help cover a portion of the costs of youth programming. While certainly welcome, this grant covers only a small portion of our total costs.

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As we look toward 2025, continuing to provide these ministries requires all of us to increase our contributions. While finances are an issue, this will be solved easily if we grow our parish and school in both numbers of people and engagement.

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Pray, listen and act as God prompts you to get involved and engage our community. We challenge ourselves and our fellow laity to actively participate and support our Ignite initiatives and teams and work to make St Catherine the vibrant parish we believe we

can be.

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We each have a role to play. Support each other and encourage each other to be the best versions of ourselves! “Be a burning bush that does not devour but warms, and brings God's light to others.” (Paraphrased from Bishop Iffert's address to Cursillo, 11/16/2024)

In Jesus,

Father Stef, Parish Pastoral Council, Finance Council, Board of Catholic Education, and Liturgy and Spiritual Life Committee