July 23, 2021
Hello Friends!
Thank you for the prayers you offered for me while I was on retreat last week. I truly felt them! It was a wonderful week...exactly what I needed, and very fruitful.
I was grateful for the respite and fortification because I came back to a whirlwind...as usual! Most of what was on my plate when I returned was good, exciting and encouraging. But then while I was out for a walk earlier this week, I noticed that someone had desecrated our Mary statue. (Yes...the one we JUST had cleaned!) My heart was heavy, as I have grown so fond of our Mary statue and so proud of how beautifully she represents our parish to all who pass OLP. I feel sad for whoever is capable of doing such a thing. I've been praying for the vandals, and hoping they soon encounter the peace and mercy of our Lord and His Blessed Mother. By the grace of God, the damage wasn't too bad (an unidentified substance smeared on the statue and graffiti in permanent marker). Our fantastic maintenance team was able to pretty much erase the evidence, but the incident was a good reminder that security must be a high priority for our parish. As you know, if we exceed our BAA goal, our plan is to use the funds to enhance security on our campus. The cost of this project is estimated to be around $46,000 and will include security cameras, network infrastructure, new door access, a surveillance monitoring server, etc.... Currently, we have reached 80% of our BAA in pledges. I'm proud of our parish for your generosity and the progress we've made toward this goal. And now...I'm challenging you to bring it home!
I am so thankful to be your pastor.
Under the Protection of Our Lady of Peace,
Fr. Dooley
P.S. Speaking of the generosity of our parishioners, our progress on the Msgr. Kenneth Grimes Gymnasium Project is encouraging and exciting! We have been given permission to get new quotes and explore all of our options. (The process was not only delayed, but in a sense had to be "re-set" due to the pandemic. It didn't set us back or change our goals. It just required that we regroup, which we have done quite successfully. I will share details as soon as I can! For now, let me assure you that we're headed in the right direction!)