August 28, 2020, Letter to St. Philip the Apostle Parishioners
Dear Parishioners:
It’s hard to believe but we are entering our sixth month of “Life with Covid.” Back in February we had never used the term “social distancing” nor did we regularly use the word “pandemic.” We entered a shutdown period on March 13 where the Governor had closed all schools and churches. It was a very eerie time when our world shrank dramatically. In June we slowly began opening the church again to limited numbers to guarantee social distancing. We could not have successfully done that without the tremendous efforts of our parish in helping to greet and check our parishioners as well as clean the church to make it safe for the next group of mass attendees. We thank you so much for your continued efforts. Now, in August, we have opened our school for in-classroom learning. Our Religious Education Program will also be kicking off soon although on an e-learning basis for now. All of these activities are being conducted in a safe manner like our successful opening of our church. Our school faculty and staff along with our cleaning service have done an excellent job of sanitizing the facility for the safety of our school and church. Through all of this you, our parish family, have supported us in a most fantastic way. While our offertory did decline, it has been through the effort of a core group of parishioners who have shouldered the financial burden that has enabled us to carry on our mission. We also applied for, and were blessed to receive, a Payroll Protection Program loan which has helped to carry us through this most crucial time.
Nobody knows when we will be able to live our lives like before. Through this time we have learned not to take our lives and loved ones for granted. We have longed for the joy that a hug from our children and grandchildren brings. We are all so very eager to celebrate mass in a full church with our great choir and all of our parish community present. We do know how much our faith means to us given our recent experiences in the past 6 months. While the majority of us continue to pray at home in our safe place, our hearts and minds are at St. Philip with our parish family at our side. If you feel comfortable, join us for mass. We celebrate mass at 5:00 PM on Saturday and 9:30 AM on Sunday. Reservations are required due to limited seating and can be made by calling the rectory. Good seats are still available! We will resume 8:30 and 10:30 masses when the Covid crisis has passed.
We ask that you continue to remember us in the offertory, especially those who have maybe forgotten about us during this time. Online offertory instructions are attached to this letter. We are still here and want to be here when the good Lord lifts us from danger and opens our world again. We are under pressure to keep our parish alive and we know that soon the Lord will enable us to thrive as we once did. While the world has been quiet, our staff has been working feverously to sustain all aspects of our parish and keep us moving forward. Knowing our Lord, we will be back again soon. We continue to be here for you. We are back at our Saturday night and Sunday morning celebration of the mass and the peace it brings to all of us. We know we will never take it for granted again.
Sincerely Yours in Christ,
Reverend Steven Bondi
On-line Parish Giving
St. Philip the Apostle Parish has worked with Our Sunday Visitor to provide you with a web-based offertory solution that allows parishioners to contribute from any location at any time. You can set up your contributions each week or set up recurring payments for the same amount each week. Christmas, Easter, Holy Days, St. Vincent de Paul, and other special collections are set up for you to make your donations electronically. You can change your contributions any time as you control your account. The parish staff at St. Philip will not have access to your account information as the On-line Giving feature is secure and managed by Our Sunday Visitor. Simply click on the link below to get to the St. Philip Parish on-line giving portal. There is an On-line Giving User Guide link at the bottom of the home page that you can review to assist you in setting up your account. The site is secure. You have the option of credit card and/or ACH (direct deposit) options for your offering. You manage your offering and can modify it at any time. You can select gift offering frequencies: weekly, monthly, every two months, quarterly, semi-annually, or annually.
Our Sunday Visitor Giving Link: https://www.osvonlinegiving.com/3124
It’s hard to believe but we are entering our sixth month of “Life with Covid.” Back in February we had never used the term “social distancing” nor did we regularly use the word “pandemic.” We entered a shutdown period on March 13 where the Governor had closed all schools and churches. It was a very eerie time when our world shrank dramatically. In June we slowly began opening the church again to limited numbers to guarantee social distancing. We could not have successfully done that without the tremendous efforts of our parish in helping to greet and check our parishioners as well as clean the church to make it safe for the next group of mass attendees. We thank you so much for your continued efforts. Now, in August, we have opened our school for in-classroom learning. Our Religious Education Program will also be kicking off soon although on an e-learning basis for now. All of these activities are being conducted in a safe manner like our successful opening of our church. Our school faculty and staff along with our cleaning service have done an excellent job of sanitizing the facility for the safety of our school and church. Through all of this you, our parish family, have supported us in a most fantastic way. While our offertory did decline, it has been through the effort of a core group of parishioners who have shouldered the financial burden that has enabled us to carry on our mission. We also applied for, and were blessed to receive, a Payroll Protection Program loan which has helped to carry us through this most crucial time.
Nobody knows when we will be able to live our lives like before. Through this time we have learned not to take our lives and loved ones for granted. We have longed for the joy that a hug from our children and grandchildren brings. We are all so very eager to celebrate mass in a full church with our great choir and all of our parish community present. We do know how much our faith means to us given our recent experiences in the past 6 months. While the majority of us continue to pray at home in our safe place, our hearts and minds are at St. Philip with our parish family at our side. If you feel comfortable, join us for mass. We celebrate mass at 5:00 PM on Saturday and 9:30 AM on Sunday. Reservations are required due to limited seating and can be made by calling the rectory. Good seats are still available! We will resume 8:30 and 10:30 masses when the Covid crisis has passed.
We ask that you continue to remember us in the offertory, especially those who have maybe forgotten about us during this time. Online offertory instructions are attached to this letter. We are still here and want to be here when the good Lord lifts us from danger and opens our world again. We are under pressure to keep our parish alive and we know that soon the Lord will enable us to thrive as we once did. While the world has been quiet, our staff has been working feverously to sustain all aspects of our parish and keep us moving forward. Knowing our Lord, we will be back again soon. We continue to be here for you. We are back at our Saturday night and Sunday morning celebration of the mass and the peace it brings to all of us. We know we will never take it for granted again.
Sincerely Yours in Christ,
Reverend Steven Bondi
On-line Parish Giving
St. Philip the Apostle Parish has worked with Our Sunday Visitor to provide you with a web-based offertory solution that allows parishioners to contribute from any location at any time. You can set up your contributions each week or set up recurring payments for the same amount each week. Christmas, Easter, Holy Days, St. Vincent de Paul, and other special collections are set up for you to make your donations electronically. You can change your contributions any time as you control your account. The parish staff at St. Philip will not have access to your account information as the On-line Giving feature is secure and managed by Our Sunday Visitor. Simply click on the link below to get to the St. Philip Parish on-line giving portal. There is an On-line Giving User Guide link at the bottom of the home page that you can review to assist you in setting up your account. The site is secure. You have the option of credit card and/or ACH (direct deposit) options for your offering. You manage your offering and can modify it at any time. You can select gift offering frequencies: weekly, monthly, every two months, quarterly, semi-annually, or annually.
Our Sunday Visitor Giving Link: https://www.osvonlinegiving.com/3124