Dear brothers and sisters in Jesus our Lord,

would like to take this opportunity to thank all of the families, individuals, friends, and loyal supporters who continue to show their constant support to Holy Family Parish with such great dedication, care and love for this church. Thank you to the council & group members and individuals who keep searching for new ways to support the church through a variety of fundraising events. Thank you to all of the generous people who donated and keep donating. Your generosity is highly appreciated and makes a huge difference in our church life and mission. This is also evangelization.

Evangelization is practiced in every activity and in every event, most recently in the church’s annual Fall Festival, that was held on Saturday, September 11. The food was delicious and the entire event was successful. The raffle was a huge success. The goal was to attract and pull the most people possible back to our community, our faith and our heritage in a safe way. We thank all of the dedicated, energetic, committed, and determined volunteers, for being so loyal, faithful, kind, and ready to serve and assist, from generation to generation, for their hard work and constant effort for the church’s sake.

The wonderful Faith Formation team started the children’s program on Wednesday, September 15. They are utilizing a new, innovative Catechesis program combining Physical attendance on Wednesdays and virtual-physical attendance on Sundays, for those children ages 6 to 12. Parents who have children this age, and have no Faith Formation or religion classes at their schools, should contact Gary Schwery to enroll their children and ensure they participate in the Zoom and physical classes. This, too, is an essential part of evangelization. The children’s participation will form the generation of the future for the families and for the church. In the same way, let us make the Sunday Divine Liturgy a priority in our Christian life and faith, where all generations unit around the Lord Jesus. MYO activities continued without a break, last year and this year; such great motivation and participation. They enjoyed wonderful outdoor and indoor gatherings at the Church and local parks. All youth, from ages 12 to 17, are invited and encouraged to join and enjoy great times together.

We thank every one of you who have demonstrated such great support for the cause of the Christians in Lebanon by sending their checks and 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 working with the Maronite Eparchy of Beirut and the direct distribution channels to the displaced and destroyed neighborhoods in the affected areas which are 90% Christian Maronite.

The month of October starts by remembering two of the principal saints in the Church. Saint Therese of Lisieux, patroness of the converted atheists, who through constant daily prayers and sacrifice brought many souls to our Lord, and Saint Francis of Assisi, who changed the face of the Church and focused on the assistance of the poor, the hungry and the needy and inspired thousands of vocations in the Church throughout the last nine centuries.

Concluding my letter, I wish you and your families a great month of October, the month dedicated for to the Holy Rosary, and a happy and glorious 103 year anniversary to Holy family Church.

Yours,

Abouna Emmanuel Nakhle-Ghorr +

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