Dear parishioners,
Many thanks to those who have already stepped forward to volunteer for the ministries that will be needed at the 8:30 Mass as we move forward. As I mentioned at Mass a few weeks ago, all parishioners are welcome to take part in these ministries: boys who would like to be servers, any parishioner who would like to be a reader, cantor, usher, greeter, sacristan, etc. Also, we have had some step forward and express a willingness to help as church cleaners- thank you to those parishioners as well!
As expected, questions have arisen after I announced a few weeks ago that we are now in the initial stages of conducting a joint capital campaign with the Diocese of Toledo. Our parish campaign, United in Christ, will be conducted in conjunction with Bishop Thomas’ Living Christ campaign, as one single effort, raising funds for both at the same time in one single campaign. Some have inquired about what this campaign will be raising funds for, both on the local and diocesan levels.
The parish projects that we hope to accomplish include the list of capital maintenance projects for the Paulding campus, which were presented at the town hall meetings a year ago. These include, among other items, repaving the south parking lot (and the north one too if we raise the funds to make it happen), replacing the roof, flashing, and gutters on the Ed Center, a new boiler for the Ed Center, a new boiler for the church, and repairing the church bells. For our school, we would like to upgrade the entrance to be a secure, double-entry system, which is standard at most schools for the safety of students. Additionally, we would like to upgrade our school gymnasium, by replacing the old floor, installing new basketball hoops and backboards, and converting the stage into a space that could be used for school Masses in the future.
If we raise enough money, we would also like to add some decorative painting to the Paulding sanctuary. My hope is that this would not only beautify the space, but also help us come together as a parish family. The overall goal is to do what we can to make the space truly Divine Mercy oriented and therefore to draw us together and strengthen our parish identity. I have mentioned to some already that part of this project would entail replacing the St. Joseph prayer above the altar with something more Divine Mercy oriented, such as “Jesus, I trust in you”, which was St. Faustina’s motto for the Divine Mercy devotion. Likewise, as many have inquired, I would like to bring different furnishings from the Payne and Antwerp churches into the Paulding church, insofar as this will be possible. I cannot promise at this point which items in particular those will be, but I do hope that this will preserve a bit of the tradition of all three of the churches. I will provide more details as we move forward.
Bishop Thomas’ fundraising initiative has many facets and many parishioners have asked questions about this. In order to address his initiative and all the questions adequately, I will provide more details in next weekend’s bulletin.
Blessings,
Fr. Ammanniti
