Dear brothers and sistersin Jesus our Lord,

We take this opportunity to thank all the Holy Family Church families, individuals, friends, sponsors and supporters who show their constant support with great dedication, care and love for the church and community. We thank all council members and groups and individuals who keep searching for new ways to support the church through adapted and modified forms of fundraising events with great teams and volunteers. This is also a way of evangelization. You are doing it. Thank you.

Evangelization is practiced in every activity, in every event, and especially in the way we held our annual Fall Festival that was held in a Coronavirus condition style, the weekend of September 12 & 13, transforming it to takeout. A well-received drive through food event that was followed by an extremely successful raffle. The goal was to attract and pull people back to the community, to the faith and our heritage in a safe way. We thank all volunteers, who are loyal and ready to serve, from generation to generation for their hard work and constant effort for the church’s sake.

The wonderful Faith Formation teachers started the children program last week and they are performing a new innovative Catechesis program virtually through Zoom and/or physical attendance, for those children ages 5 to 12. We urge parents to contact Gary Schwery to enroll their children if they have not yet done so. The classes have been moved from Wednesdays to Sundays at 9:00 AM. These children are the future of our church. In the same manner, let us put our Sunday Divine Liturgy as a priority in our Christian life and faith, where all generations unite around the Lord Jesus.

Our MYO group had a great start last October and has maintained their enthusiasm throughout the dreaded Coronavirus that started in March. The MYO team organized a wonderful outdoor gathering at South St Paul Park and later at the church. All youth from age 12 to 24 are invited to join and enjoy the games and competitions and the great time together.

In September, we replaced the church’s 25 year old sound system mixer with a new mixer with double capacity and the latest digital technology. We thank every one of you for your support and care for your church and community.

We thank every one of you who showed such great support for the cause of the Christians in Lebanon by sending your donations to Caritas Lebanon, the major Catholic Charity in the Middle East. These donations are being sent at least twice a month from the Eparchy in Saint Louis to Beirut where Caritas is dealing with the Maronite Eparchy of Beirut and the direct distribution channels to the displaced and destroyed neighborhoods in the areas affected, which are 90% Christian Maronite.

Concluding my letter, I wish you and your families a great month of October and a Happy and Glorious Church 102 year anniversary.

Yours in Christ Jesus,

Father Emmanuel Nakhle-Ghorr +

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