St. Jude Award Medal

Greetings to all of you!

I am thrilled to announce that the recipient of this year's St. Jude Award Medal for outstanding service to the Church of St. Mark is Frank and Rose Lauro! This great couple have been members of St. Mark since the beginning of this parish and have given generously of their time, talent, and treasure for so many years! They will be awarded the St.Jude Medal by Bishop Lynch on the Feast of Christ the King in November. We offer them congratulations and a huge thank you for all their great work!

You may have noticed the ushers have new shirts to identify them when they are serving at Mass. These bone color, lightweight shirts, are both functional and dressy and were paid for by the ushers themselves. I've got my order in already and they tell me that they may also change colors during the liturgical year. What a wonderful and committed group of men, women, and children who serve our parish in quiet, yet very important ways. My many thanks to them for their crucial role in our parish Masses!

Well it looks like Fr. Ed will be returning this week to Tampa from his trip to Mexico! He is quite a fixture there saying Mass for the sisters and visiting the sick in his neighborhood. I'm sure they miss him when he's not there but I also know I'm glad when he comes back! Welcome home Fr. Ed!

Well, that is all for now. It looks like football season begins in a couple of weeks so I'm starting my Novena for the Giants now!

Well, that is all for now. It looks like football season is just around the corner and cooler days are ahead!

Peace,

Fr. David

Rites

Greetings to all of you!

Last week at the 8:30 am Mass we welcomed 9 persons who decided to make the first step in learning more about the Catholic Faith and more importantly, their relationship with God. I always look forward to these Rites since it requires the participation and acceptance by our Catholic Community and those making this step get to see what a truly welcoming and God centered community we really are. Pray for these Catechumens and Candidates as they continue to make additional steps toward full reception in the Catholic Church sometime around Easter of next year.

Also last week was the first meeting of the new Parish Stewardship and Advisory board which will continue to plan and execute the practice of Stewardship and Spirituality here at St. Mark. They will also be my eyes, ears, and voice of the needs of our people. The board seemed very excited to make St. Mark the best it can be and I look forward to seeing what they can accomplish. Pray for them!

As you know, we are still waiting the arrival of Eric the Lion for our bell tower and should be any day now. This Majestic lion will be greeting parishioners and visitors as they enter the round-about located in front of the Family Life Center. We are also getting closer and closer to breaking ground for our new Church. Many of you have or will receive a letter from me asking to make this happen soon. Again, the longer we wait, the higher the cost will be. Those of you who haven't made a yearly pledge please do so. Last week, over 90 families from our Spanish Community pledged over $32,000 towards our goal. Be assured, from a God who can never be out-given in generosity, He will certainly bless yours with abundance!

Well, that is all for now. It looks like football season is just around the corner and cooler days are ahead!

Peace,

Fr. David