Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ,

          Jesus tells us through the Gospel readings this weekend that our words and actions must proclaim the kingdom of God.  We need to be found among the poor, vulnerable and lost. In order to do this proclamation we are called to be welcome and provide hospitality to all that we meet.  As Jesus proclaims that the Kingdom of God is at hand, he proclaims this message to a diverse group of people. We are called to go out and proclaim this as well.

          I want to thank everyone who came out to celebrate our Parish feast day and Parish 54th anniversary. I want to say a special thank you to Mrs. Pamella Johnson our Director of Faith Formation, along with Steven Sotelo our Coordinator of Youth Ministry and Christina Reilly our Faith Formation Assistant for coordinating our activities for the celebration. Everyone had a wonderful time. Thank you all soo very much.

          We have an exciting new parish bible study program that has started with a study on the Gospel of Matthew called : The King and His Kingdom. This Bible study program shows how Jesus fulfills God’s promises to Israel and establishes his kingdom on earth. Through references to the Old Testament promises of God to his people and the messages God sent them through the prophets, the Bible study of the Gospel of the Matthew provides the key to understanding the rest of the New Testament and Christ as the fulfillment of God’s plan. Classes are Tuesday mornings from 9-11 am and Tuesday evenings from 6:30-8:30 pm. All are welcome! Contact Faith Formation office at 281-479-8832 for more information or to sign up for this study.

         Religious Education classes will be starting Sunday September 8th , and now is the time to plan for the  upcoming Faith Formation school year. With more than 600 children in some level of Religious education last year at STHY, we need to have a head start in preparing for this fall’s Religious Education classes. Registration is ongoing. (Please check the bulletin and parish website: Sthyacinth.org for more information).

          Remember as well that when you are registering your child for Religious Education classes you can also sign-up yourself to be a catechist or aide. We are in great need of a number of catechists to teach our children, from the littlest ones in the early grades on through middle school and high school. It’s a wonderful way to get involved in the life of the parish and to live out the call of Stewardship of your time and talent. There is no greater gift than to pass on the faith to a child, so please consider joining this important ministry of STHY.  The Faith Formation staff is happy to answer questions and get you involved.

          Speaking of Faith Formation, while you are picking up your kids school supplies, please help STHY with supplying our Faith Formation programs with school supplies. A supply list is in this week’s bulletin. Please drop your donated supplies off in the Faith Formation office, or the narthex. Thank you for your generosity toward helping our young people learn about their faith.

          As you may know, our Diocese is in the midst of the IGNITE Capital Campaign. Every parish in the Archdiocese will be participating in the campaign at different times. Our time is now. We will be kicking off the campaign this fall. I am excited for the opportunities to not only serve our Archdiocese, but to use the monies raised for some much needed improvements here at St Hyacinth. I think we can all agree out Parish Hall would benefit from flooring and lighting upgrades. With your help, this campaign will give us the funds necessary to make the upgrades and improve our parish home.

          The IGNITE campaign is composed of 6 distinct case elements. Five of the elements: Seminary renovations, Catholic Education Scholarships, Faith Formation Funding, Harvey Relief, and a Future Disaster Fund will touch every Catholic in out Diocese, today and for generations to come. We will also be keeping one third of all the monies raised in out parish. That’s the 6th case element. Each parish will be able to make improvements as their needs dictate. As we know, our needs dictate the Parish Hall updates. By working together, we will be able to replace the flooring and lighting, making the Hall a more hospitable gathering place for us as a parish community.

God Bless,
Fr. Reginald Samuels