Success and Steadfast Commitment

Because you are an important part of our faith communities here in Plainville and Wrentham, please take a moment to read this message of congratulations, gratitude, and challenge to maintain support through the summer.

Both Parish Finance Councils and I want to congratulate you on your successes over this past fiscal year. At this point St. Mary has joined St. Martha in exceeding our goals for the Catholic Appeal which supports the work of the Church throughout our archdiocese and provides support services to our parishes. If these pledges are fulfilled, each parish will receive rebates again this year! On a local level, as our fiscal year comes to a close both parishes are on track for supporting regular offertory on par with the budget we presented to you last fall - this regular income is essential to our parishes being able to commit to the ministries we provide throughout the year.

Thank you to all who regularly support St. Martha or St. Mary, the Archdiocese of Boston, mission churches, and the special needs that come up along the way. As disciples of Jesus Christ, all that we are and have are gifts freely given to us from God. He calls us to imitate his generosity by how we share the gifts of our time, talents, and treasure. This is done in financial and practical ways you have supported our parishes and those we serve. Countless people are so grateful for all you do. Just two recent examples: friends and relatives of Henry Carr were so appreciative that St. Mary’s was able to host the large crowds for his wake, and the province of the Religious of Jesus and Mary sisters were thankful that St. Martha’s hosted their Jubilee Mass. Special events like these together with all the routine ways we support people in their faith, sorrow, hope and joy would not be possible without your involvement and contributions.

In order for our parishes to continue at present levels of ministry - and to grow stronger and more effective in the future - we all need to maintain a steadfast commitment to our involvement and support of our parishes. In order to maintain this vital financial support through the summer months, I want to challenge you to provide consistent contributions to the parish offertory - even if you are traveling. Please consider the online giving program (through our website) - the most convenient way to do this; otherwise, consider catching-up on donations you miss while you're away. While it is appropriate to contribute something to whatever parish we visit, we have a commitment to our home parishes, whose expenses are still substantial during the summer. St. Martha depends on an average weekly offertory of about $3,100, and at St. Mary even a weekly offertory of $7,000 is not enough to balance the budget.

I hope you make time for relaxation and re-creation this summer. Meanwhile, we will be sharing more information about our new Pastoral Plan for the Plainville-Wrentham Collaborative Parishes and start recruiting and laying the groundwork for its implementation