Dear Our Lady of Lourdes Parish Family,

Saint John Paul II said that a parish doesn’t have a mission. It is a mission. Ours is growing! New people are moving in from around the country and the world. Our Sunday Masses bring God’s people together, offering their lives to the Father through Christ’s sacrifice. Our Mass attendance is up. Moreover, we now have 1,244 registered households (2,645 heads), up from about 900 households in 2021.

The Good News: You all responded to our appeal for increasing Offertory (First Collection) giving. Thanks to you, we increased Offertory giving by $48K+ in Fiscal Year 2025. While this alone did not cover our operating expenses, I am grateful to a few one-time donors who put us over the top. However, we cannot rely yearly on one-time givers to save the day. One-time gifts are great! But they are like farming: some years are good, other years are lean. So we need to rely on something consistent: weekly Offertory (First Collection) giving.

A financially healthy parish covers operating expenses with Offertory (First Collection) gifts. We're getting there. But we're not there yet. So help us out by increasing your weekly or monthly commitment to Offertory giving!

For the full FY 2025 financial report, please take one from the vestibule on your way out of church.

We’re building a community of parishioners, friends, and neighbors. Throughout the year, you're invited to our many events, such as the Parish Picnic (September 14), the Our Lady Guadalupe celebration, Forty Hours Devotion, Our Lady of Lourdes feast day dinner, St. Joseph Day spaghetti dinner, Lenten Fish Fry, and our monthly Sunday brunch by the Knights of Columbus, which starts again on October 5. Stay tuned for the dates of these events!

I ask each of you – all parishioners – to increase your offertory to keep our mission in good financial health. All forms of giving are welcome and important -- online with Faith Direct (soon to be ParishSoft) and in-pew.

Let’s support our mission with our time, talent, and treasure! “God loves a cheerful giver.” (2 Corinthians 9:7)

Thanks for your continued generosity and for making Our Lady of Lourdes a spiritual home to so many people!

In Christ and his Mother, Fr. Frederick Edlefsen