Dear parishioners,
I mentioned a few items last weekend in the end-of-Mass announcements about which I would follow-up/give more details in the bulletin. One of those items was the renovation of our school gym. As I mentioned, we will not be putting an addition on the building! However, we will be having the wood floor stripped and rewaxed; we will be adding new lines for basketball, volleyball, and pickleball. The wood flooring will likely be a brighter, more natural looking wood color once it is all done. We have removed the carpet from the walls of the gym and are in the process of getting it painted. We will be replacing the basketball hoops because the current ones are falling apart, and we will add a volleyball system as well. We are also hoping to add a new sound system to the gym. The floor and wall projects will be covered by funds already donated toward the school. The new equipment for the gym will be covered by government funds that have been available for schools throughout the State.
Another item I mentioned last weekend was the proposed amendment to the State of Ohio’s constitution which seeks to allow widespread access to abortion. Currently, the people/organizations lobbying this amendment (Planned Parenthood, ACLU, and their allies) are seeking enough signatures to get this proposal on the ballot this Fall. The Catholic Bishops of Ohio, collectively called the Catholic Conference of Ohio, have issued a few letters in this regard, hoping to alert and inform as many people as possible to the extremely grave nature of this proposal. Please take a moment to visit the Ohio Bishops’ website: https://www.ohiocathconf.org/protect-ohio. This website has a bunch of resources, including the full text of the proposed amendment. There is a printable flyer on the website as well; feel free to print and give it to as many people as possible so that more people can be informed. The Catholic Conference of Ohio sent many of these flyers to parishes already; we have plenty available at the parish office if you would like some. The Catholic Conference of Ohio is also a member of Protect Women Ohio, which is a larger coalition to help defeat the proposed amendment. The website for Protect Women Ohio has many informative resources for your information and use: https://protectwomenohio.com/. Protect Women Ohio really does an effective job in showing how the proposed amendment would even strip parents of their rights when their daughter wants to have an abortion. Please continue to pray that this proposed amendment does not even make it on the ballot this Fall, and, if it does, that Lord raise up all people of good will to vote no on this issue!
Lastly, as has been available in the Paulding church basement for a few months now, there are still St. Joseph plates available if anyone would like to take some. At the same time we made the St. Joseph plates available, we also made available some of the extra Christmas decorations that had been in storage in the Paulding church for years. Feel free to stop down to the Paulding church basement if you would like either of these items.
Blessings,
Fr. Ammanniti
