It is with great joy to present to you this weekend the parish fiscal year end
report (July 2017 to June 2018). You will find in this special issue of our
bulletin, known as the “Good News Bulletin”, a summary of the things that took place in the last fiscal year. I must admit that it only gives us a cursory glance of the many wonderful things that happened in our community. Nevertheless, this provides us an idea how we, as a family of faith, have been living out the Gospel.
I am continuously edified by the fervor, dedication, love and generosity of so many of you. Our finances have been doing well thanks to your generosity. Just like in the past three years, we have exceeded our offertory goal once again; expenses were significantly lower than what we have budgeted. Sound fiscal management is a priority for me as pastor as it is part of our responsibility to be good stewards of the gifts that God has blessed us. Because of the surpluses that we have accumulated for the past four years, we were able to undertake major maintenance projects without asking additional help from the community. Most, if not all, of the major projected maintenance expenses have already been completed. Kindly check the finance and facilities report for more details.
A relatively new parish ministry (started three years ago) known as the “Good Samaritan/Buen Samaritano” has taken on the challenges of new evangelization. The whole idea when we started this ministry was to proclaim the Gospel through acts of charity and active presence in the streets. Three years ago when we were brainstorming this concept, three parishioners volunteered to take the lead and now it has more than 100 active members. It is one of our fastest growing parish ministries, attracting volunteers from all ages and backgrounds. Twice a month (starting at 6am), volunteers go to various homeless locations serving food, talking with people and praying with them. A couple of weeks ago, this ministry put up a big booth in the Beaverton Saturday Market, embarking on what we call “street evangelization” (see the pictures in this bulletin). They served food, prayed with people, and set up games for children. I have received emails and phone calls from people that they served that day, asking for more information about our faith community. Initially, volunteers pitched in to finance this ministry, but now the proceeds of the bottles and cans that we recycle from your drop off at the back of the parish office have been exclusively used for this ministry. Volunteers rotate each week to drop your recycle bottles and cans in redemption centers. It’s truly amazing how the Holy Spirit has been moving us out of our comfort zones!
I hope you enjoy this “Good News” bulletin. Let us continue to work and collaborate together in the building up of the Kingdom of God. – Fr. Cary