Bulletin – August 1, 2010
July 31st, 2010 | Published in Bulletin
Archive for July, 2010
Summer Appeal Project: Marian Prayer Garden
July 20th, 2010 | Published in News
Hello, my name is Dakota Allen and some of you may know me here at St. Aloysius as a Youth Lector and Altar Server. I am also a Boy Scout in Troop 561 and I am on the verge of attaining the rank Eagle Scout, which is the highest rank in boy scouting. This has been a goal of mine for many years. My final step towards the rank is to complete an Eagle Service Project. An Eagle Service Project is a voluntary act of service intended to benefit an organization other than the Boy Scouts of America through a scout’s leadership ability.
For my project I have been planning for some time now with Fr. John in building a Marian prayer garden in between the Rectory and St. Aloysius. I have provided a drawing of the garden in the Church vestibule for your viewing. This prayer garden will be a quiet place for you, the parishioners, to come and pray alone or in small numbers. It will also be a quiet place to just relax from the stresses of life. The garden can also be a concluding place for a wedding. In addition, it will be a new home for our Blessed Virgin Mary statue which currently is in need of restoration. The garden will also honor our past for the 300th anniversary and will show our continued devotion to the mother of God. The landscaping includes many types of plants such as Knockout Roses, American Boxwoods, English Dwarf Boxwoods, 3 new Crape myrtle trees, Burning Bushes, and Variegated Liriopes. The garden will also have beautiful hardscape such as Desert gold slate and Cambridge cobble pavers in the form of a Celtic cross. In addition, the garden will include two teak benches at the front of the garden.
Prior to building any project, a scout is required to raise the necessary funds. The price of my project for St. Aloysius is estimated at $15,000, so I am asking for a lot of help. I am asking for your donations through the 2010 Summer Appeal which starts this weekend. This will help defer the costs greatly. Please donate what you can.
Next to the sketch of the garden in the vestibule will be a “fundraising thermometer” that will show how much money is raised so far as we strive to reach our parish goal. I will also be doing separate fundraisers to raise any additional funds not raised through the Summer Appeal. Your fundraising suggestions are welcomed.
One final item I would like to ask is for any parishioners who have experience in the fields of Landscaping, cement/concrete restoration, detail painting for the Blessed Virgin Mary statue, and possible access to heavy equipment and/or those who could donate some of their time to please stop by and see me after Mass. Flyers will be upcoming in future bulletins with this information as a reminder. I will be out front to answer any questions you may have. Let’s work together in bringing a beautiful garden to our parish. Thank you for your time and May God bless you.
Update: Holy Cross Church, Botswana
July 16th, 2010 | Published in News
On the 3rd Sunday of every month members of the parish’s St. Vincent de Paul Society stand at the doors of the church after all Masses collecting donations for our twinning or sister parish, Holy Cross Church, Botswana.
Here are some photos and correspondence from Botswana updating their progress:
May 18, 2010
Good day,
Our project is very close to completion. I do hope you shall get the pictures soon. Though the remaining funds shall not be able to finish the project completely, we are happy to report that your donations have helped us a lot in achieving our dream. If things go according to plan, we shall launch the place the beginning of next month. We are hoping to get some furniture donations and bedding from members of our church for the two families we have identified so far. I was hoping to send you an update or our quarterly report but felt it will be meaningful if we sent it together with the other report.
May the good Lord bless you now and forever.
Benita
Good day,
Our project is very close to completion. I do hope you shall get the pictures soon. Though the remaining funds shall not be able to finish the project completely, we are happy to report that your donations have helped us a lot in achieving our dream. If things go according to plan, we shall launch the place the beginning of next month. We are hoping to get some furniture donations and bedding from members of our church for the two families we have identified so far. I was hoping to send you an update or our quarterly report but felt it will be meaningful if we sent it together with the other report.
May the good Lord bless you now and forever.
Benita
June 8, 2010
Good day,
I hope you are doing well that side of the globe. We are fine this side and I am pleased to inform you that the house was blessed on 30th May, 2010 and we moved the first family in this past Sunday. They are very excited and we are hopeful they will find the place conducive. Moving them was quite hectic and we even forgot to take some pictures. We shall take some pictures this coming weekend and send to you. Of course there are some things that we need to put in place for them and the other family that we hope to move in the next three or four weeks. I was really touched seeing the excitement in their faces. They could not believe their luck to have been chosen as the first occupants of the centre. Though we have other greater plans, this has been a great achievement on our part. And this has been possible because of you as our twinning friends. May the good Lord always bless you in all that you do.
Benita
Good day,
I hope you are doing well that side of the globe. We are fine this side and I am pleased to inform you that the house was blessed on 30th May, 2010 and we moved the first family in this past Sunday. They are very excited and we are hopeful they will find the place conducive. Moving them was quite hectic and we even forgot to take some pictures. We shall take some pictures this coming weekend and send to you. Of course there are some things that we need to put in place for them and the other family that we hope to move in the next three or four weeks. I was really touched seeing the excitement in their faces. They could not believe their luck to have been chosen as the first occupants of the centre. Though we have other greater plans, this has been a great achievement on our part. And this has been possible because of you as our twinning friends. May the good Lord always bless you in all that you do.
Benita
June 25, 2010
Greetings,
Like I had said in my last correspondence, we already have one family staying in the place and there are some on our waiting list. The place can only accommodate two families at a time. The family that is there consists of a mother, father and 3 children. They have 4 children and one is with foster parents. The other family that we are to consider accommodating unfortunately is a large one. It is a mother and 11 children. We can only be hopeful that they shall live peacefully together with those already in the centre.
Benita
Greetings,
Like I had said in my last correspondence, we already have one family staying in the place and there are some on our waiting list. The place can only accommodate two families at a time. The family that is there consists of a mother, father and 3 children. They have 4 children and one is with foster parents. The other family that we are to consider accommodating unfortunately is a large one. It is a mother and 11 children. We can only be hopeful that they shall live peacefully together with those already in the centre.
Benita
300th Anniversary Celebration Photos
July 10th, 2010 | Published in News
On Saturday, June 26, 2010 following the Mass of the 300th Anniversary of the Establishment of St. Aloysius Gonzaga Church parishioners gathered at the Leonardtown Volunteer Fire Department Hall for a celebration. Below are photos from the event.
Click here to view the complete 300th Anniversary Celebration Gallery
300th Anniversary Mass Photos
July 10th, 2010 | Published in News
On Saturday, June 26, 2010 a Mass of the 300th Anniversary of the Establishment of St. Aloysius Gonzaga Church was celebrated with Most Reverend Donald W. Wuerl, Archbishop of Washington as the Principal Celebrant and Homilist. Below are photos from the Mass.
Click here to view the complete 300th Anniversary Mass Gallery
St. Aloysius marks 300 years as a landmark of faith in Leonardtown
July 8th, 2010 | Published in News
From the July 8, 2010 edition of The Catholic Standard.
“According to the St. Mary’s Gazette, the parish of St. Aloysius Gonzaga in Leonardtown held a multi-denominational celebration and spiritual retreat three months following the end of the Civil War. During that July town-wide event, the Catholic parishioners were already worshipping in their second church building and celebrating over 150 years as a community of believers.”
