Dear Epiphany Parishioners,

In many ways of the Church and of the Lord, the message has always been:  The time is now! Since the advent of his coming at Christmas, “in the fullness of time,” as Scripture puts it, Jesus’ message to us is: The time is at hand. And it was also the first message of Jesus’ public ministry, heralded by St. John the Baptist this weekend in the Gospel reading on the Second Sunday of Advent: “Prepare the way of the Lord, make straight his paths.” The time is at hand. If we have deepened our faith during this lingering, unprecedented world pandemic, then we know we should never take anything that is important to us for granted. Our love of the Lord, therefore, sits at the primacy of the list of things that occupies our heart.

This weekend, after more than two years (due to the pandemic) of our archdiocesan ministry of conducting a capital campaign for our parish and for our Archdiocese, we will be closing out the public phase of our Celebrating Our Faith as Children of God capital campaign. We call this time that we have arrived at, Commitment Weekend, for two reasons. First, for those who desire from their heart to support the Church in the every four-or-so years of sacrificial giving and have not for one reason or another made a pledge yet, this is the weekend to make your offering at Mass or after Mass (on-line at our parish website). The second reason why we call this Commitment Weekend is because for those who have already made your pledge to the capital campaign, we want to thank you for your commitment to your church and to the Mission of Christ.

With the generosity of 440 family gifts, we have reached the milestone pledge amount of $4 million! Your contribution to the capital campaign is still needed to help our parish reach our campaign goal of $6 million, which we can achieve if all of our 6000 Epiphany families give from their love of the Lord. During all of the Masses this Commitment Weekend, we will give everyone who has not made a pledge a chance to fill out the pledge card and place it in the collection basket during Mass. But the best way to prepare going into Commitment Weekend is to make your pledge before this weekend by filling out the on-line pledge form at this link: Capital Campaign Pledge Form

As I mentioned before, one of the insights about our lives that we have received during the pandemic is how much we truly need God. It is my hope that we have committed ourselves to living the most authentic relationship with the Lord in love, charity, and service that would then be the blessing that came from the challenges of these past two years. We ask quite a lot of things from God during our life, knowing too that we will, if He finds us faithful, also give us the ultimate reward of the saints in heaven. And we are reminded every time we receive the final blessing at Mass that He commissions us to fulfill our role in His Mission; in other words, the Lord asks quite a lot from us too. The Lord God desires our service; and more than our service, He asks us to commit our life; and more than just our life, He desires us to love Him from our heart. It is also called Commitment Weekend because it is a manifestation of our commitment to love the Lord, to serving the Lord, and to offering our life to the Lord.

We can do this! We can say that we built up the Church during the global pandemic because our hearts are filled with love and trust in the Lord and His Church. It is my prayer that through your participation, God the Father has shown you His Love for His People, and His love for you, as His Children of God.

Devotedly yours in Christ,

Rev. Tom Lam

Pastor