Well I didn't win the $5000. Or the $2000. Or even the $1000. But I'm still very happy for those who were the winners of our parish festival raffle so congratulations to them! The winner of the $2000 received our call on her birthday, so that was good timing. I believe all three winners were parishioners so that's even better. I'll have to put aside my wishes for another trip to Rome but I think they ran out of pasta there anyway during my last visit. The parish festival was a lot of fun! It was so good to see many parishioners & neighbors in the same place at the same time. And so many people volunteered their time & worked hard for this to happen again so successfully so please know how grateful I am to each one of you. I may not have been able to thank you personally but I saw you and thanked God for you in my heart. We had a bit of competition from the Indians and Ohio State games, but at least they were both winners. I'll let you know as soon as I know what the profit was but I'm happy that our biggest profit was from the opportunity to have fun together.
I mentioned last week that I wanted to let you know about a new opportunity for you to make your weekend contributions. Every registered parishioner receives envelopes in the mail every month for them to insert either cash or a check for their contribution at Mass (except for those who haven't used the envelopes for over a year & may prefer to just put their donation into the basket). If you wish to continue to use these envelopes, please feel free to do so. But here's another option for those of us who have become accustomed to paying our bills online. It's called WeShare which is an electronic giving tool, and many other parishes have been offering this option for years. Online Giving is an easy and convenient way to save time and support the church. Donating is simple, safe, and completely secure. With WeShare, you can set up a recurring weekly or monthly transaction using your checking, savings, or credit card account. You can decide how much to give to any collection and make changes any time, day or night. In next week's bulletin, I'll tell you how to use it. I've been using it myself and it's so easy and convenient. I don't have to worry about having cash to put in my envelopes, and I stopped using checks years ago as I like to pay by credit cards (where you can get points when you use your card). Starting next weekend, you'll find the WeShare logo on the homepage of our website to the right of the pictures (or below them if you're using a mobile phone). So many people have asked me for this option and we're now able to provide it free of charge to you. Call the rectory (216-661-1006) if you have any questions about this and we will be happy to answer them for you.