Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ,
The struggle between fear and faith is a constant theme in the scriptures and the Gospel of Mark gives us a clear picture of that struggle in the readings for this Sunday. As we continue our path of discipleship, we are called to turn to Jesus in times of trial and destress, knowing that He is present with us. The storms of life will come and go, however, God is the constant.
Café Catholica is our most popular program for young adults (ages 18-39), single and married. This event features dynamic speakers, prayer and socializing. It is a great way to help young adults in our community connect with others from around the archdiocese. This yea, Café Catholica will be held at the Catholic Charismatic Center on Mondays in July starting on July 5th. Each night will include Mass at 6:00pm, Talk at 7:15pm, followed by snack, confession and tailgate gathering at 8:15 pm. This year, the host speakers will include, Mark and Katie Hartfiel, Chila Anyanwu, Golin Nykaza and Cardinal DiNardo. The theme for this year is “Courageous Love”. For more details about Café Catholica go to www.cafecatholica.com.
The first phase of the Church renovation has started with the instillation of the new boiler system to provide heat for the Church, Religious Education building and offices. The new boiler system is in and is waiting to be inspected by the city and state officials. In the next few weeks with the replacement cooling systems for the Church and Church complex will start. The existing HVAC system is currently failing and needs to be replaced due to its age. The instillation will be a major undertaking to replace our aged system of the parish. The HVAC systems of the Church are interconnected with the Religious Education building and the work will be extensive. Thank you for your generosity towards STHY.
Furthermore, we have signed a contract with Studio Red Architects who will help guide us on phase two of the renovation of the Church. Studio Red Architects have provided their services to several of our parishes here in the Archdiocese, and I am confident they will be able to lead us in the renovation of our fifty plus year old church. For the renovation of the sanctuary, we are planning to replace the existing pews, flooring and lighting in the main church. Thank you for your generosity to St Hyacinth.
One of our parish goals in 2021 is to increase the number of families supporting St Hyacinth using Faith Direct. Currently we have 211 families using Faith Direct and hopefully by the end of the year we can have at least 325 families of STHY on Faith Direct. The number of 325 families represents 20% of our parish population of registered parishioners. You can register in less than five minutes by logging on to www.faithdirect.net and entering our parish code of TX526 or by just simply scanning the QR code found on the poster in the Narthex.
This year we will celebrate the 56th anniversary of the founding of St Hyacinth. For this year’s celebration, the weekend of August 21st and 22nd there will be a weekend of prayer, remembrance, and celebration. There will be giveaways, and fun throughout the weekend culminating with the long-anticipated raffle of wonderful prizes. Soo, please pick up your raffle tickets from one of the volunteers at the entrance to the Church this weekend. We have the same wonderful raffle prizes that were going to be raffled off at the 2020 spring festival, however, those tickets will be added to this raffle for the Parish anniversary.
Please mark your calendars for this wonderful event of homecoming and celebration as we return to the Church. Please take this time of preparation to invite any of our past parishioners and families who have moved to come and celebrate the anniversary and life of our STHY.
Finally, we here at St. Hyacinth want to wish all the Fathers of the parish a safe and happy Father's Day.
God Bless,
Fr. Reginald Samuels
