A Note From Father Eickhoff

April 23, 2023

This week’s bulletin article is a collection of odd and ends.

Next Saturday, April 29 St. Anne Parish will hold two First Communion Masses.  I hope that you will keep these children (and their parents) in your prayers this week as they prepare to receive the Holy Eucharist for the first time.  The youth of today need all the encouragement and assistance that we can give to them to not only maintain their Catholic faith, but to allow it to grow as well.

The 2023 Catholic Ministries Annual Appeal is underway.  The Appeal helps to fund various ministries in the Diocese of Joliet. In particular, the money donated goes to helping the poor, helping to provide for the education of future priests of the diocese, and supporting programs that assist us at St. Anne Parish in educating religious education students.  Your response so far this year has been very generous:

  • Our parish current year goal amount $109,300
  • Our parish current year pledge amount $111,839
  • Our parish current year pledge received $78,680
  • Our parish previous year pledge received $73,595

As you can see the parishioners of St. Anne Church have pledged more than our goal amount.  Furthermore, the amount of the pledged funds already received surpasses the entirety of last year’s appeal received amount.  With your help St. Anne can fulfill our pledges and surpass the goal amount for the first time in many years.  If you haven’t donated to the Appeal, you can still do so by going to the Diocese of Joliet webpage and clicking on the big red button marked DONATE on the top right of the screen (yes, I just checked to make sure it works).  If you donate online, make sure to click on the PARISH button and choose St. Anne Parish, Oswego so that your contribution is included under our parish totals.  There are also Appeal envelopes in the literature racks in the parish narthex if you want to mail in a pledge or donation.

Finally, I want to mention that I will be going on vacation the first week of May.  Fr. Dan Stempora will say the daily Masses that week.  There will be adoration of the Blessed Eucharist on Wednesday, May 3, but there will not be confessions that day.

Yours in Christ,

Fr. Stephen Eickhoff
Pastor