State of the Parish 

On January 1, instead of a homily welcoming in the New Year, I decided to give a short presentation on the State of the Parish.   This will be an annual occurrence as I feel it is important that everyone has a glimpse of what has transpired over the past year. 

According to our data system –we have approximately 850 registered households.   Given the size of the average family of 4 we may have over 3,000 folks living and registered in our parish.  The national average of those attending Mass regularly even before the pandemic is about 17 to 20 percent.  That would put our numbers around 650. Our Sunday average has been between 380 to 420, depending on several variables like the weather, sporting events, and health issues. This does not include those of you who faithfully are watching at home as we continue to live stream our Masses both weekdays and Sundays.

According to information that I have received upon my arrival, our parish children attend 20 different schools, which creates its own unique set of circumstances as we try and share our faith with them. Last year we had 27 Baptisms, and coincidently, we had 27 deaths.  We had 11 weddings.  We have had 44 new households registered in the parish. Until we see the results of our annual mailing, we will not know how many families have moved out of the parish or registered elsewhere.  

Financially, we are doing well, even in light of diminished attendance.  This is due to your faithfulness to the parish and your monthly contributions.   Our annual appeal has already tallied over $ 90,000.00, which will be earmarked for our heating and air-conditioning system, which is over 30 years old. Maintaining such a large parish campus, especially the age of most of the buildings, can be a costly endeavor.  It is only with your help and support that we can continue to manage and maintain our parish property.  

Along with our HVAC system needing replacement, there is a plan to renovate the first floor of the school as our parish offices, so that they are more accessible.  We will also be resurfacing and painting the lines on our parking lots this spring.   Added to the above, there are other various annual maintenance tasks that need constant care in order for us to keep everything in good working order.

As we approach this new year, I want to thank everyone for your care and generous support of the parish.  I pray that we can continue to grow as a community in faith in our efforts to share the good news to those in need, as well as each other.   May the Lord bless you all in 2022, and may we find health and happiness in our efforts to be disciples of Christ.   

Fr. Joe

Please excuse the informal nature of this message, but on behalf of the entire Augustinian Community here at OMGC, I want to thank you for the many cards, cookies, and gift baskets that we received over the past few weeks. Some of them remained anonymous, while others were identified by a first name only. We truly appreciated all the many sweets and treats that have filled our bellies –now we have to all go on a diet!! Thank you all again for your kindness to us as a community.  Fr. Joe 

NEW THIS SUNDAY!

7:00 PM MASS

On Sunday, January 9, 2022 a

7:00 PM Sunday Mass will be added to our weekly schedule.

Join us for this new evening Mass!

Ushers Needed-- As we begin to find our way back to Mass on weekends and Holy Days, we will need to establish a more regular schedule of ushers for the collection. I am looking for 10 women or men who will volunteer to act as the "Head Usher"--2 for each Mass, so that you can coordinate with others who regularly attend this Mass to assist you in taking up the collection.  Leaving it up to the 2 young sacristans can be difficult as they do not know our parishioners as you might, nor are they always available.  Please let me know if you are able and willing to assume this role so we can create a rotating schedule.  Father Joe