Dear Epiphany Parishioners,

The last four months have been challenging for all of our parish families and for our Church as well. Yet despite the temporary closures of churches in mid-March through the entire month of April, we have continued the Mission of Christ as faithful Catholics. For the increasing number of parishioners that have chosen to return to church for Sunday Mass services on a regular basis, it is great to see you! Many others have chosen, for safety concerns, to remain at home and participate in our live and on-line Mass streams. We hope you are attending these Masses accompanied by family members and are finding them to be inspirational and full of spiritual fellowship. We certainly respect your decision; and in the meantime, rest assured that our social distancing and safety measures in the church will responsibly continue as you consider the right time for you and your family to return to attending church services.  

I wanted to let you know that Saturday, June 20, 2020 is not only the first official day of summer, it is also National eGiving Day and an opportunity for you to continue to bless Epiphany of the Lord with your prayers and gifts. The Coronavirus has had a devastating financial impact on many Americans and institutions. Within our community, its impact has clearly been felt and has been further compounded by falling oil prices with the actions many employers have taken to either reduce workforce or reduce employee salaries. The impact on our parish finances has also been considerably harsh. Over the past three months, we have had a substantial reduction in our weekly offerings. A continuation of this decline could have a negative impact on our ability to provide the level of ministry that we currently consider so essential within a Catholic community.

Going into the onset of the Coronavirus, our Parish was in reasonably good financial shape. More parishioners were participating in our on-line Faith Direct giving program, and our weekly basket collections remained fairly close to budget expectations. However, the previous period of church closure and the current limited opening up of the church continue to result in a dramatic reduction in our weekly collections.

We recognize that many of you may now be reluctant to support our parish financially to the level that you were previously accustomed. Others may have discontinued their contributions all together because of job loss or fear thereof. For those who have either reduced your weekly giving or have recently discontinued making a regular contribution, we ask that you prayerfully consider a one-time catch-up offering in connection with the National Day of eGiving. It’s easy to forget to catch up once families are back on their feet, and our weekly offertory can fluctuate as a result. And once your situation allows it, we would appreciate your return to regular giving to the parish.

For those Parishioners that have generously continued their normal weekly tithe, we thank you. We ask of you that in light of the financial difficulties that are being experienced by certain of your fellow parishioners, that you likewise consider a one-time meaningful offering in connection with the National Day of eGiving and consider increasing your weekly contributions over the next several months.

You can make your one-time or recurring offering gift in connection with National eGiving Day by clicking here:  https://epiphanycatholic.org/donate

Using Faith Direct for your ongoing offerings to Epiphany will help restore consistent monthly offertory to our parish in light of the community impact caused by Coronavirus and job losses at this time. The more families who welcome the beginning of summer by taking this step, the more fruitful and consistent our offertory will be month after month – and this will help us sustain our year-round ministries.  

I ask that you to give eGiving offertory your prayerful consideration as we continue to be Christ in the lives of others during this pandemic and these challenging times. May God bless and keep you and your loved ones safe during the summer as we place our Christian hope in the healing hands of the Divine Physician and Savior.

Devotedly yours in Christ,

Rev. Tom Lam

Pastor