ear Parishioners and visitors,

Happy Labor Day to all of you! On this day, we celebrate all the achievements, social and economic, of our American workers and we honor the labor movement. Labor Day was made a federal holiday by President Grover Cleveland in 1894. Labor Day, with its long weekend, is associated with the unofficial end of summer and also the beginning of the school year. Some exciting news for our Parish. We will begin holding BINGO here at St. Ann. Our first Bingo will be held at Delaney Hall on September 24, Thursday, at 1:30PM. Join us for a fun-filled afternoon in aid-conditioned comfort. There will be more information upcoming on future bingo dates.

This weekend, we welcome Rami Qumsieh to St. Ann Parish. He will be at St. Ann after all Masses, selling beautiful hand-carved olive wood religious items made in the Holy Land. He will share with us about the situation of Christians in the Holy Land. I know that you will welcome him warmly.

Thank you to all those who have been faithfully selling car raffle tickets. It is because of the generosity of Holly Kia, and the service of our ticket sellers, that the car raffle can be a success. A sincere “thank you” to Holly Kia and to each and every car raffle ticket seller. Also, a special “thank you” to Janice and Bill Karl for all of their hard work on the car raffle over the last five years. Great job, Janice and Bill!

Lastly, this is a busy time for our Parish for two reasons: we are starting up our various programs and we are into the Capital Campaign process. This past week, we met with the head of the Diocesan Building Committee. We are continuing our internal meetings and our regularly scheduled meetings with CCS, the consultant advising us on the Capital Campaign. Our project is two-fold

Firstly, to build a new multi-purpose building at the Our Lady of Guadalupe site. This building will have two parts to it. One side will be a spacious parish hall, with room dividers, a large kitchen, a stage, adequate storage space, bathrooms. This space will enable existing ministries to meet and the beginning of new ministries. This hall will also be a home for our Spanish community-a place where they can meet, celebrate, and build a stronger community. Also, I am most grateful to the cooks who have been providing wonderful meals for sale at Our Lady of Guadalupe Church after the 1:00PM Mass, in support of this project. The parish staff has greatly enjoyed two delicious meals and we are looking forward to the next one Thank you again for your strong support for our building projects.

Secondly, we plan on renovating and beautifying St. Ann Church. Our present church is a Butler building and was not intended to be the “forever” church. It is well over fifty years old and we want to ensure it will be here for many, many more years to come.

I am asking that all our parishioners support these projects with both prayerful and financial assistance. Not everyone can give a large gift and I am not asking for that to happen. What I am hoping for is equal sacrifice, not equal gifts. You can help make this project a great success by doing what you can do, according to your means. Some can contribute financially in a larger way, and some in a not-so-large way. The important thing is that every one of our parishioners prays about to what extent they are able to contribute, talks with their financial planner, and makes a decision on their support in a prayerful and wise way. I humbly request that every parishioner prays the Campaign Prayer as often as they can, and that they also give prayerful consideration to how they can financially support our parish project for the future of our parish.

 Have A Great Bethany Beach Week!
Stay Safe! Stay Healthy!

Campaign Prayer

Giver of all good things, with grateful hearts we humbly ask You
 to send forth Your Spirit upon us that we may
come together as one community of believers.

Open our hearts to be immensely generous with all You have given us,
so that we may build our new Parish Center
and renovate our beloved St. Ann Church.

Unite us as one community of faith,
given to the common purpose of praising and serving You
through our ministries, our worship, and
our support of our neighbors in need.

Grant us the fortitude and sacrificial love of our patron, St. Ann,
and our much loved Our Lady of Guadalupe.
Let us Grow in Faith, Build His Kingdom, and Serve His People.

This we ask through Our Lord, Jesus Christ.

Amen.

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