From the Pastor's Desk- October 24

Dear Parishioners,

This weekend, we will focus on announcing our 2026 Increased Offertory Campaign. Last fall, our main focus was on changing our online giving platform to PushPay, and I decided against making an increased offertory effort. However, this year, we must do so if we want to continue growing. Words cannot express my gratitude for your vibrant and generous stewardship, which is evident in countless ways. I could list many examples, but I would like to highlight two critical improvements to our campus that were completed in the past few months: a new roof for the Aquinas Gym/Parish Hall and the newly designed roof for the church, which was just completed a few days ago. My friends, these are your gifts to us and to the next generation of parishioners. God willing, they will last another 40 or 50 years. 

These gifts were made possible by many sacrifices, intentional donations, and savings over the last three years. The new roofs cost over $400,000 in total. This is a real miracle when you consider that, upon my arrival, our net income showed repeated annual deficits. 

We have some challenging news regarding the Parish Offertory and Maintenance Income: in the past three months (July, August, and September), we have seen a significant combined decrease of about $49,000. While this is not good news, I am confident that you will help us reverse the negative trend. The Finance Council continues to assist me in analyzing this data. For this reason, I am asking for your help. If every family were to increase their weekly offertory by $10—or the equivalent of $40 per month—we could make a difference. I am also relaunching the Our Lady of Angels Benevolent Club for those who can make a one-time donation of $500. 

Please allow me to reiterate how much the online donations help us. They enable my staff and volunteers to work more efficiently by eliminating the need to count and deposit funds or enter contributions into the database. Would you consider using our PushPay platform?

The weekend of October 31 and November 1 is commitment weekend. After the homily and before the Prayers of the Faithful, you will have the opportunity to approach the altar with your family or other parishioners and drop off your commitment card.



In short, I humbly and respectfully ask all parishioners to support this year's increased offertory campaign by taking prayerful action in three ways:

1. Pledge your annual sacrificial giving as a family. I am confident that God will make those sacrifices fruitful.

2.Increase your giving, focusing on the Offertory and Parish Maintenance. 

3. If possible, sign up to use our PushPay online giving. It reduces our workload at the office. It also secures more regular donations. You can securely and easily make one-time donations whenever you feel prompted by the Lord.

It would be a tremendous blessing if anyone could make an intentional, sacrificial donation of $500 to the OLA Benevolent Club. I hope to find 50 families willing to join the challenge and help stabilize the net income.

Please help us make our annual Increased Offertory Campaign a success! The annual parish report will be ready for all to review in a few weeks. 

Most importantly, let us continue to pray for Pope Leo's recovery.

God bless you!

Fr. Álvaro