May Our Love Increase Ever More and More

I pray always with joy in my every prayer for all of you,
because of your partnership for the gospel.
And this is my prayer: that your love may increase ever more and more
in knowledge and every kind of perception,
to discern what is of value.
St. Paul to the Church in Philippi

A Joyful Advent for Us All!

The readings this week are all about joy, from Baruch’s vision of the joy of Israel’s return from Babylon to Paul’s letter to the Philippians to the Baptist’s proclamation that Jesus is the fulfillment of Baruch’s vision.

I have to confess, I’ve never considered myself a joyful person. However, St. Paul’s prayer for the Philippians is very much my prayer for us all at St. Therese: May our love increase ever more and more in knowledge and every kind of perception to discern what is of value. Amen!

In this time of gratitude, let us take some time to look at our personal budgets as a spiritual exercise. I would invite you to look at where you spend your money and where your priorities are and make a financial commitment to St. Therese that reflects your priorities. While the collections numbers are on budget, that budget had a $15,000 deficit! Your pledge will also affect the budgeting for the fiscal year beginning next July 1. For instance, if we are to grow our Parish, we need to do some publicity work, and that will require some funding. You can make a pledge here. After Christmas, you’ll need to fulfill your pledge by going to the Pushpay app on your phone, choosing “recurring” at the bottom of the screen, and editing your recurring gift.

Ministry Opportunities
Do you have expertise with online marketing? The Stewardship Commission is looking to put together a digital outreach team and could need your help! If you can serve, contact John Russell at jvrussell85@gmail.com.

We also need photographers for parish outreach! If you are good with asking people if you can take their picture, your phone will take care of the rest. Contact Diane at paa@st-therese.cc.

To help run our livestream equipment, contact Nicole at nicoles@st-therese.cc. The livestream is not just a nice to-do. It’s a must-do and Nicole needs your help! nicoles@st-therese.cc.

Parish Collections
July 1, 2021 – December 2, 2021.….... $159,885
The budget….…. $151,403
Last year at this time….…. $140,462