Parish Bulletin Article: "Two Gifts that you can Support": 11-26-17

Happy Thanksgiving, and I hope you have a wonderful weekend with your family.  After a few weekends of sharing several verses in the Bible, I would like to offer two gifts over the next few weeks.

First, last month I received a powerful email from Fr. Albert Wugaa.  You may remember Fr. Albert—a priest in the Diocese Navrongo-Bolgatanga in Ghana, Africa—several years ago as he visited us in St. Thomas Aquinas and St. Columban.  This email showed some pictures with 90 students in Garu’s small school, and they did not have chairs or desks!  My goal is to support these students, and it would cost $25 per desk/chair.  To help these 90 students, the cost will be $2250. 

Would anyone like to support one of these students?  If so, Fr. Albert mentioned that each desk/chair could show you or your loved ones' names to remember and pray for you.  If you can serve our brothers and sisters 6,000 miles ago, please write a check to St. Thomas Aquinas with a memo “Fr. Albert Wugaa’s school project.”  All of this money will be sent directly to Fr. Albert.

Second, please continue to reach your parish UCA goals for the 2017 year.

Always remember that if we do not have a diocese, we would not have a parish.  Thus, each of our parishes in the Diocese of Duluth gave the same percentages through their budgets, and most churches finish their goal by December 31st. 

Also, remember that when you give your gift, directly it to our Diocese rather than our day-to-day operations.  To offer this, please put a memo “UCA” through checks as we each have a line item in our budgets.

To our parishioners at St. Thomas Aquinas, we have given about $17,000 to our diocese with about $19,000 left to go.  As we are in the season for tax-deductions, consider supporting our diocese!

We also must catch up with our yearly process through the UCA.  Last year we sent a check about $7,000 in the spring of 2017 to finish our 2016 line.  Now we will have two steps to follow each parish throughout our Diocese.  Thus, we need to complete our 2017 cost will be completed on February 28th, 2018.  I pray that we can do this!  If not, we will send a check to our Diocese.  Then, we need to finish our 2018 UCA by December 31st, 2018.  At that point, we can be on the same level as each parish in our Diocese.

Discern, pray and support both our brother, Fr. Albert Wugaa, and the many excellent gifts our Diocese of Duluth gives us, and carry the UCA to operate our Diocese.

God Bless!