We are grateful to have begun the process of slowly opening up and welcoming our parish family back home again. The pandemic’s toll in terms of lost lives has been—and continues to be—devastating and we will be coping with those losses together for the foreseeable future. This crisis has also had a continuing economic toll on individuals, families and nonprofit organizations like our parish. Because of these challenges, the parish finance council is now requesting that as many parishioners as possible move their parish giving over to our Faith Direct online platform.
This method is not only more efficient and enables us a greater sense of financial stability, it also helps minimize any potential concerns about infections transmitted through the use of hard currency.
We have been fortunate so far to weather this storm without laying off any staff. That has been an enormous blessing as, in many ways, this crisis required more from our staff than usual. Since the shut down, we have livestreamed over 50 events including Holy Week celebrations and online social gatherings. We have answered the call to help with the extraordinary needs in our community by providing and serving over 20,000 meals to our brothers and sisters with World Central Kitchen, the Office of Concern and Family Promise, where the number of people who show up to get fed has quadrupled since the beginning of the lockdown.
We thank you for your consideration in switching over to online giving and we are happy to help anyone who might feel technologically challenged and need assistance making the transition.