The e-zine this week is an abbreviated version in order to allow some of our dedicated staff to have vacation time. In Italia, everything closes down for le ferie d'agosto - the whole month of August!
O that we could do the same!
I thought you might like to see the newly revised letter we will be sending to new parishioners. I offer it as a good "examen" for all of us on the joys and challenges of our parish life together.
Dear ________________,
Welcome to Saint Ignatius Catholic Church. Thank you for choosing us as your parish. I hope you will find our liturgies and ministries spiritually enriching. We strive to be a parish of meaningful and challenging teaching, inspiring worship, personal friendships, discernment, and compassionate care for those in need, especially the poor.
We seek to form a community of intentional disciples, whose personal and liturgical prayer strengthens our life together and sends us out in humble service and respectful dialog to share the joy of the Gospel in and beyond Baltimore City.
I encourage you to consider prayerfully giving four hours a week to deepen your own and our following of the Lord:
- Celebrate Sunday Mass with our faith community
- Volunteer in a parish ministry or in the community for at least an hour a week
- Pray for an hour a week to bring you spiritually close to Jesus
- Donate one hour's pay to the weekly offertory collection
I am enclosing a brochure identifying a contact person for each of our parish ministries. Please feel free to connect with them to learn more about the ministry with which they work. Based on the form you filled out, we will also have someone contact you about your identified interests.
In order to keep you 'in the know,' we will add your e-mail addresses to our mailing list. Please add parish@st-ignatius.net to your contact list so that we can reach you with parish news when necessary.
Your gifts and donations allow us to carry on our mission, ministries and outreaches. We offer a program called Faith Direct through which you can have your donations debited from your checking account or charged to your credit card. For more information on this, I am enclosing a sign up form. You can also visit their web site at: www.faithdirect.net. Our parish code is MD301. If you would prefer envelopes, please contact us at the office.
Please do not hesitate to call me or a member of our staff if we can be of assistance. Once again, welcome!
Gratefully yours in Christ,
Pastor
Enclosures
