Parish Blog

Dear Fellow Parishioners;

At last, I get my apartment back! Actually it has been fun having a roommate in Fredy and I have thoroughly enjoyed the experience. Please wish him well as he looks forward to being ordained a deacon in July and God willing, a priest for the Diocese of Orange next year!

Together in Christ;

Fr. Ogre

Pastor

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Dear Parishioners,

Can you imagine eating, sleeping and living under the same roof as your boss? All the while knowing that your boss will write an evaluation about you for your university? Not possible you say. I have done it and believe me it has been a valuable experience. In the beginning I had many doubts and fears but once we began to know one another I realized that Father Steve is not an "ogre boss” which sometimes we believe or imagine.

It has been nine months since my arrival at St. Edward and San Felipe de Jesús. When I arrived I knew very little about this community other than the good things Father Mario had relayed to me. There have been so many wonderful experiences and great moments for me here at St. Edward and if I were to describe them all Saundra would not be able to publish the extent of my writing in the bulletin.

Therefore I wish to express in these few lines my deepest heartfelt gratitude to the entire community of St. Edward and San Felipe de Jesús for having allowed me to travel this fascinating journey of our faith with you.

In today's Gospel we hear the great commandment that Jesus has entrusted to us, "love one another as I love you." All of you, the clergy, staff, leaders and volunteers from the various ministries and parishioners have been an authentic example to me of that love which the Gospel speaks to us today. Thank you, thank you very much for allowing me to mature in my priestly vocation and learn from you so many wonderful things that will help me in my future ministry.

If someone were to ask me what is one thing I will miss I would say Father Steve’s coffee in the morning, even if it wasn’t Colombian coffee!

Sincerely,
Fredy Mancilla
Seminarian

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Queridos feligreses,

¡Por fin, ya tengo mi apartamento de regreso! En realidad, ha sido divertido tener un compañero de apartamento; Fredy y yo hemos disfrutado de la experiencia. ¡Por favor, deseemos le lo mejor mientras esperamos su ordenación como diácono en julio y si Dios quiere, un sacerdote para la Diócesis de Orange el año que viene!

Juntos en Cristo, 

Fr. Ogro

Pastor.  

 ~ * ~

Queridos feligreses, 

¿Alguna vez se han imaginado comer, dormir y vivir con el jefe bajo el mismo techo? ¿más aun sabiendo que su jefe va a escribir un reporte a cerca de ti para tu universidad?  ¿Imposible de hacer? No, yo lo hice y crean que ha sido una valiosa experiencia para mi. No lo niego, al inicio tenia muchas dudas y temores, pero un vez que iniciamos a compartir y a conocernos el uno al otro me di cuenta que el Padre Steve no es como la imagen del “jefe ogro” que a veces creamos o imaginamos.

Ya han pasado nueve meses desde mi llegada a San Eduardo y San Felipe de Jesús. Cuando llegue conocía muy poco a cerca de esta comunidad sólo las maravillas que el Padre Mario me había contado antes de llegar. Son tantas las experiencias y buenos momentos vividos que me faltaría líneas para describir todo aquello, tanto, que estoy seguro que Saundra no publicaría en el boletín mi escrito por lo extenso.  

Por consiguiente deseo expresar en estas cortas líneas y de todo corazón mis más profundos agradecimientos a toda la comunidad de San Eduardo y San Felipe de Jesús por haber me permitido recorrer con ustedes este fascinante caminar de nuestra fe.

En el evangelio de hoy escuchamos el gran mandamiento que Jesús nos ha encomendado: “amarnos los unos a los otros como Él nos ha amado”. Es precisamente ese amor mi más grata experiencia vivida a lo largo de este tiempo en medio de ustedes. Todos ustedes, el clero, el personal de trabajo, los lideres y voluntarios de los diferentes ministerios y los feligreses, me han enseñado a vivir con intensidad ese amor del cual nos habla hoy el evangelio. Gracias, muchas gracias por permitirme crecer en mi vocación sacerdotal y aprender de ustedes tantas cosas maravillosas que me ayudarán en mi futuro ministerio.

Si alguien me preguntara que extrañaré, yo diría sin duda: ¡el café del Padre Steve en las mañanas a pesar que no era café colombiano!

Sinceramente,  

Fredy Mancilla

Seminarista

Dear Fellow Parishioners;

During the Veneration of the Cross on Good Friday, I noticed that one of the ‘bearers of the cross’ had a bead of sweat on his brow.  I figured that the least I could do was to relieve ‘a bit of his suffering’ and take his place while parishioners streamed forward to touch, kiss or kneel in front of the cross.  So I went over, touched his shoulder and whispered “the church union says you cannot hold up the cross any longer”.  He smiled and let me have the cross.   It was heavy and I started to sweat as well.  But what a vantage point!  It is a very powerful moment to watch people come forward to draw near to the cross.  There are people carrying the cross of cancer, terminal illnesses, handicaps, the cross of addictions, family issues, and the cross of being out of work, difficult marriages, divorce and separation, arthritis, the loss of a loved one.  For many their cross is visible to me because they have shared that personal cross with me; others are invisible to me, but very real.  I wonder if this was the vantage point that Jesus had in his own sufferings that Good Friday.  I certainly don’t and cannot bear the weight of all that human suffering, but just to be there in the presence of such power is the reason why Good Friday has such meaning to me.  We touched that power later Good Friday evening with Lamentations.  People came to touch the burden of the Cross and to lay some of their burden down, or to help others carry theirs.  But then, that must be why we have a Good Friday.  So that when Easter arises, we are carried with the Resurrection!

Many thanks to all who prepared the liturgies and  created such wonderful environments for the different movements and themes during our Holy Week.  From palms to processions, from crosses to empty tombs, both churches were striking and powerful in their witness to the Gospel.

As we enter Divine Mercy Sunday, may the Risen Lord continue to enlighten your way and draw you close to Him.

Together in Christ;

Fr. Steve

Pastor

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Queridos Feligreses;

El Viernes Santo durante la Veneración de la Cruz me di cuenta que una de las personas que llevaba la cruz tenía una gota de sudor en su frente. Pensé que lo menos que podía hacer para aliviar un poco su ‘sufrimiento’ era tomar su lugar mientras los demás feligreses se acercaban para tocar, besar o arrodillarse delante de la cruz. Así que me acerqué, le toqué el hombro y le susurré al oído: “la Iglesia unida dice que no puedes sostener la cruz por más tiempo”. Él sonrió y me permitió sostener la cruz. La cruz pesaba mucho y empecé a sudar también. ¡Pero vaya que oportunidad! Ver como la gente se acerca a la cruz es un momento muy intenso y significativo. Hay personas que llevan la cruz de un cáncer, enfermedades terminales, discapacidades, la cruz de las adicciones, problemas familiares, la cruz de estar sin un trabajo, los matrimonios difíciles, el divorcio y la separación, la artritis, la pérdida de un ser querido... Muchas de sus cruces son visibles para mí, ya que han compartido esa cruz personal conmigo. Mientras que otras cruces son invisibles para mí, pero son muy reales. Me pregunto si esta fue la misma oportunidad que Jesús tuvo en sus propios sufrimientos ese Viernes Santo. Ciertamente yo no podré soportar el peso de todo el sufrimiento humano, pero estar allí, bajo la presencia de ese poder, es la razón por la cual el Viernes Santo tiene tanto significado para mí. Palpamos ese poder más tarde en la noche del Viernes Santo con las Lamentaciones. La gente llegó a tocar el peso de la cruz y poner algunas de sus cargas en ella o simplemente ayudaron a otros a cargar con sus cruces. Pero entonces, es por eso que tenemos un Viernes Santo. Así que cuando surja la Pascua, nosotros seremos elevados con la resurrección.

Muchas gracias a todos los que prepararon las liturgias, a todos aquellos que crearon magníficos entornos para los diferentes momentos y temas durante nuestra Semana Santa. De las palmas a las procesiones, de las cruces a las tumbas vacías, las dos iglesias estuvieron sorprendentes y eficaces en su testimonio del Evangelio.

Mientras nos adentramos al Domingo de la Divina Misericordia, que el Señor Resucitado continúe iluminando nuestro camino y acercando nos a Él.

Juntos en Cristo;

Fr. Steve

Párroco

EASTER BLESSINGS! 

Thank you for being with the community of St. Edward the Confessor/San Felipe de Jesus Chapel today.  If you are actively engaged in the faith life of this parish, thank you for your commitment to Christ and his Church.   If you are visiting or just curious about this event called the Resurrection, know that you are most welcome and it is my hope that Christ will continue to engage your heart.  If you are home from college or home at your parents so you can get your laundry done and hopefully get a good meal, know that we are glad you joined us today.  A special note of gratitude to staff, volunteers and ministers who pulled together gracefully to celebrate our Holy Week liturgies.  Our faith was enhanced by the experience of the Sacred Triduum this past week.

In glancing back over the season of Lent, I realize that I did not come close to the initial commitments I had made to deepen my faith.  Setting aside additional prayer time, promising that I would increase the number of hospital and sickbed visits, as well as engaging my health with more regular exercise often became good thoughts at best.  Life just kept getting in the way!

But as I reflect a bit more, it was often in the ‘life that got in the way’ that grace happened. I realize a truth that I had already known; that it is frequently the faith of others which carry me along the way.  I became aware that in this Lent, God graced me through my intersecting with people’s lives. So as I sat in a board meeting of IHOPE in San Clemente listening to how deeply people care for the poor and those on the wayside, I was lifted up.  As I was privileged to encounter a fellow sharing his moral inventory with me as he worked his 12 step program, I realized Christ was present.  As I dashed over to Mission Hospital one evening to see a very sick parishioner, I arrived in time to be with him surrounded by his family when he died. At that moment I became aware of the experience of encountering death and the promise of new life.  Spending an evening with a long time parishioner over a fish dinner who shared his tough walk in this life, I was reminded that the journey of faith can be a long and arduous one.  To spend part of a rainy Saturday morning in our school gym listening to Fr. Richard Rohr speak about the spiritual journey and looking around at 450 focused participants captured for me the importance of belonging to a community of believers.  And I realize, these are just a few of the ways I encountered Christ in this Lent.

So where was my deepening conversion discovered in the Lenten season?  Not in my best laid personal plans, but entering into the stories and lives of others.  Doggone it, you mean that Christ might be working in other ways that the way I plan things.  Quite possibly, and in fact, most probably!

I trust that you found times of grace as well.

Together in Christ;

Fr Steve Sallot

Pastor

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¡Bendiciones de Pascua!

Gracias por formar parte de la comunidad de San Eduardo el Confesor y la Capilla de San Felipe de Jesús. Si usted es un miembro activo en esta parroquia, gracias por su compromiso con Cristo y su Iglesia. Si viene de visita, sepa que es bienvenido. Si usted se encuentra en casa, de regreso de la universidad, o con sus padres, sépase que estamos contentos de que nos acompañe hoy. Una nota de agradecimiento a todo nuestro personal, voluntarios y los ministros que se unieron para celebrar las liturgias de Semana Santa. Nuestra fe se ha incrementado por la experiencia del Triduo Sacro de la semana pasada.

PLEASE NOTE: The pilgrimage to England in May 2012, with Fr. Leon Hutton and Fr. Steve Sallot, has been CANCELED due to lack of pilgrims.

Dear Fellow Parishioners;

Phew!  After spending a weekend with us, Bishop Tod has returned to his office at the Marywood Diocesan Center in Orange.  Having the bishop visit your parish can be a bit like having your mother inspect your bedroom to see if you have cleaned it like you were supposed to!  Actually, his visit was rather fun for us.

After arriving on Saturday afternoon, Bishop Tod met with members of the Pastoral and Finance Councils, heard Saturday afternoon confessions, enjoyed dinner with his priests and seminarian, had bacon and eggs cooked by the pastor early Sunday morning (I can at least cook an egg!), celebrated Mass at St. Edward’s at 5:30pm on Saturday, 7:30am and 9:00am on Sunday as well as the 11:30am at San Felipe in Spanish followed by a reception at San Felipe.  Even with daylight savings time, for a bishop at 75 he still had some pep when he left Sunday afternoon. 

For those who had the opportunity to meet or speak with him, thank you for your friendliness and welcoming spirit.  You made him feel at home and allowed him to see what a great community of believers St. Edward the Confessor/San Felipe de Jesus we are!

Also, please keep an eye on the left side of the glass windows in the main church.  The outside area being worked on has been just plants but is now being transformed into a prayer garden.  Central to the garden is a labyrinth, an ancient setting for meditation and prayer.  Included will also be benches and at some point a fountain which will help to create a peaceful atmosphere.  Several parishioners donated monies in order for this to happen.  A nice place to pray in the Easter season!

Together in Christ;

Fr. Steve

Pastor

Queridos feligreses,

¡Uf! Monseñor Tod ha regresado a su oficina, al Centro Diocesano de Marywood en Orange, después de haber pasado un fin de semana con nosotros. ¡Tener a Monseñor visitando la parroquia podría ser un poco como tener nuestra mamá inspeccionando nuestra habitación para ver si se ha limpiado correctamente! En realidad, su visita fue bastante amena para nosoros.

Después de su llegada en la tarde del sábado, Monseñor Tod se reunió con los miembros delConsejo Pastoral y de Finanzas; el mismo sábado por la tarde escuchó confesiones; disfrutó de una cena con sus sacerdotes y seminarista; el domingo por la mañana disfrutó de tocino y huevos preparados por el párroco (¡al menos puedo cocinar unos huevos!); el sábado celebró la Santa Misa a las 5:30 p.m. en San Eduardo y el domingo las Misas de 7:30 a.m. y 9:00 a.m., así como la de 11:30 a.m. en San Felipe, en español, seguida por una recepción en San Felipe. A pesar del cambio de hora, para un obispo de 75 años, todavía tenía algo de energía cuando partió la tarde del domingo.

Para todos aquellos que tuvieron la oportunidad de reunirse o hablar con él, gracias por su amabilidad y espíritu de bienvenida. ¡Le han hecho sentirse como en casa y le han permitido ver lo grandiosa que es la comunidad de creyentes de San Eduardo el Confesor y San Felipe de Jesús!

Por favor, echar un vistazo también a lado izquierdo de las ventanas de la iglesia principal (San Eduardo). La zona exterior que está siendo trabajada ha sido sólo plantas, pero ahora se está transformando en un jardín de oración. Central al jardín está un laberinto, un lugar antiguo para la meditación y la oración. También serán incluidos bancos y en algún momento una fuente que ayudará a crear una atmósfera pacífica. Varios feligreses donaron dinero para que esto fuera posible. ¡Un lugar hermoso para orar en la temporada de Semana Santa!

Juntos en Cristo,

Padre Steve,

Párroco

Dear Fellow Parishioners;

This weekend, Bishop Tod Brown will visit St. Edward the Confessor and San Felipe de Jesus.  Arriving Saturday afternoon, March 10th, he will be meeting with members of the Pastoral Council, the Finance Council, Staff members as well as the Consejo from San Felipe.  Following confessions, he will celebrate the 5:30pm Mass, the 7:30am Mass, the 9:00am Mass as well as the 11:30am Mass at San Felipe.  Join us in welcoming him as our Bishop to our great parish community!  (Say nice things about the priests to him!!)

Together in Christ;

Fr. Steve

Pastor

Queridos feligreses;

Este fin de semana, nuestro Obispo Tod Brown visitará San Eduardo el Confesor y San Felipe de Jesús. Al llegar, en la tarde del sábado, 10 de marzo, se reunirá con los miembros del Consejo Pastoral, el Consejo de Finanzas, los miembros del personal, así como el Consejo de San Felipe. Después de las confesiones, él celebrará la misa de las 5:30pm, la Misa de 7:30am, la Misa de 9:00am, así como también la Misa de 11:30am en San Felipe. Les invitamos a que se unan a nosotros para darle la bienvenida como nuestro Obispo de nuestra comunidad parroquial! (Cuenten le las cosas bonitas de los sacerdotes!).

Juntos en Cristo;

Fr. Steve

Párroco

Dear Fellow Parishioners:

I would like to invite you to consider joining the St. Edward/San Felipe de Jesus Pastoral Council. On March 14th at 7 P.M. in the Parish Room on the second floor of the School an information session will be held for all of those interested in being part of this important ministry. The Pastoral Council provides advice and guidance to me on the Spiritual well being of the Parish.

Together in Christ,

Father Steve Sallot

Pastor 

Read more about the Pastoral Council on our Ministries page.

Queridos Feligreses:

Les invito a que consideraren ser parte del Consejo Pastoral de San Eduardo/San Felipe de Jesús. El 14 de marzo a las 7 P.M. en el Salón Parroquial (en el segundo piso de la Escuela), una sesión informativa se llevará a cabo para todos aquellos interesados ​​en formar parte de este importante ministerio. El Consejo Pastoral me proporciona asesoramiento y orientación acerca del bienestar espiritual de la Parroquia.

Juntos en Cristo:

Fr. Steve Sallot

Párroco

Dear Fellow Parishioners;

It is difficult to believe in the world of instant communications, that we should be surprised by events.  Usually decisions affecting large groups of persons, that there would be a ‘heads up’ well ahead of time.  But it seems that in recent weeks religious groups were shocked by the Federal Department of Health and Human Services mandating in their health plans, contraceptives, abortifacients and sterilization coverage by institutions for which these practices are immoral.  Catholic Hospitals and Catholic Universities are the some of the largest institutions involved with the mission of the Church that would be forced to comply by these new government regulations.  The attached letter from our Bishop is reflecting the reaction of the Conference of U. S. Bishops who are vigorously opposed to such practices on the grounds of conscience.

After the initial return volley of the Bishops, the government is now working on readjusting the new regulations, but this battle is far from over and will probably end up in the Supreme Court.  I recommend that you read the following statement from our bishops made shortly after the administration’s initial adjustment to the mandate.

These are most interesting days that strike right at the core of our Religious Liberty, Life and Conscience.

Together in Christ;

Fr. Steve Sallot, Pastor

Bishop's Renew Call to Legislative Action on Religious Liberty

The Catholic bishops have long supported access to life-affirming healthcare for all, and the conscience rights of everyone involved in the complex process of providing that healthcare. That is why we raised two serious objections to the "preventive services" regulation issued by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) in August 2011.

First, we objected to the rule forcing private health plans — nationwide, by the stroke of a bureaucrat's pen—to cover sterilization and contraception, including drugs that may cause abortion. All the other mandated "preventive services" prevent disease, and pregnancy is not a disease. Moreover, forcing plans to cover abortifacients violates existing federal conscience laws. Therefore, we called for the rescission of the mandate altogether.

Second, we explained that the mandate would impose a burden of unprecedented reach and severity on the consciences of those who consider such "services" immoral: insurers forced to write policies including this coverage; employers and schools forced to sponsor and subsidize the coverage; and individual employees and students forced to pay premiums for the coverage. We therefore urged HHS, if it insisted on keeping the mandate, to provide a conscience exemption for all of these stakeholders—not just the extremely small subset of "religious employers" that HHS proposed to exempt initially.

Today, the President has done two things.

First, he has decided to retain HHS's nationwide mandate of insurance coverage of sterilization and contraception, including some abortifacients. This is both unsupported in the law and remains a grave moral concern. We cannot fail to reiterate this, even as so many would focus exclusively on the question of religious liberty.

Second, the President has announced some changes in how that mandate will be administered, which is still unclear in its details. As far as we can tell at this point, the change appears to have the following basic contours:

·It would still mandate that all insurers must include coverage for the objectionable services in all the policies they would write. At this point, it would appear that self-insuring religious employers, and religious insurance companies, are not exempt from this mandate.

·It would allow non-profit, religious employers to declare that they do not offer such coverage. But the employee and insurer may separately agree to add that coverage. The employee would not have to pay any additional amount to obtain this coverage, and the coverage would be provided as a part of the employer's policy, not as a separate rider.

·Finally, we are told that the one-year extension on the effective date (from August 1, 2012 to August 1, 2013) is available to any non-profit religious employer who desires it, without any government application or approval process.

These changes require careful moral analysis, and moreover, appear subject to some measure of change. But we note at the outset that the lack of clear protection for key stakeholders—for self-insured religious employers; for religious and secular for-profit employers; for secular non-profit employers; for religious insurers; and for individuals—is unacceptable and must be corrected. And in the case where the employee and insurer agree to add the objectionable coverage, that coverage is still provided as a part of the objecting employer's plan, financed in the same way as the rest of the coverage offered by the objecting employer. This, too, raises serious moral concerns.

We just received information about this proposal for the first time this morning; we were not consulted in advance. Some information we have is in writing and some is oral. We will, of course, continue to press for the greatest conscience protection we can secure from the Executive Branch. But stepping away from the particulars, we note that today's proposal continues to involve needless government intrusion in the internal governance of religious institutions, and to threaten government coercion of religious people and groups to violate their most deeply held convictions. In a nation dedicated to religious liberty as its first and founding principle, we should not be limited to negotiating within these parameters. The only complete solution to this religious liberty problem is for HHS to rescind the mandate of these objectionable services.

We will therefore continue—with no less vigor, no less sense of urgency—our efforts to correct this problem through the other two branches of government. For example, we renew our call on Congress to pass, and the Administration to sign, the Respect for Rights of Conscience Act. And we renew our call to the Catholic faithful, and to all our fellow Americans, to join together in this effort to protect religious liberty and freedom of conscience for all.

This weekend is our annual Diocesan Pastoral Services Appeal.  As you know well from past history, our web page, the bulletin or the letter you received from me you are aware of this Appeal.  That is, assisting in the ministries of the larger church in our Diocese.  And as you have heard by now, our Diocese purchased the Crystal Cathedral in Garden Grove and will develop the church and property into our new Catholic Cathedral and Pastoral Center for our future.

What you are not aware of is that the Bishop is looking for possible names for our new Cathedral.  His only qualification is that it needs “Christ” in its name (not a bad idea!).  If you have a creative title, let me know and I will forward on to the Bishop.  You can send it to me via email, ssallot@stedward.com The deadline for submitting names is February 19.  I look forward to hearing your ideas!

On the more local scene, our parish celebrated along with other diocesan parishes the recognition of outstanding acolytes (altar servers) at Holy Family in Orange.  It was great to see all the young people in the church and the acknowledgement of their commitment to Christ and his Church.  Our Altar Server of the Year is Liam McCann, a senior at Dana Hills High School.  He is a great acolyte, very dependable and is still trying to figure out whether or not his face can handle a beard!  Congratulations Liam!

Together in Christ;

Fr. Steve

Pastor

Queridos Feligreses;

Este fin de semana es nuestra Colecta Anual Diocesana para los servicios pastorales de la diócesis. Como ustedes bien saben desde nuestra historia pasada, nuestra página web, el boletín o la carta que ustedes recibieron de mí, ustedes son conscientes de dicha Colecta. Es decir, la ayuda para los ministerios de la iglesia local de nuestra Diócesis de Orange. Y como ustedes han escuchado, nuestra Diócesis compró la Catedral de Cristal en Garden Grove y convertirá la iglesia y la propiedad en nuestra nueva Catedral Católica y Centro de Pastoral para nuestro futuro.

Lo que no se sabe es que el obispo está en búsqueda de posibles nombres para nuestra nueva Catedral. Su única condición es que se incluya el nombre de “Cristo” (¡no es una mala idea!). Si usted tiene un título creativo, hágamelo saber y lo remitiré al obispo. Usted puede enviar me lo a través del correo electrónico, ssallot@stedward.com La fecha límite para la presentación de los nombres es el 19 de febrero. ¡Espero con interés escuchar sus ideas!

En el ámbito más local, la parroquia celebró junto con otras parroquias diocesanas el reconocimiento de a nuestros admirables acólitos (monaguillos) en la Sagrada Familia de Orange. Fue genial ver a todos los jóvenes en la iglesia y el reconocimiento de su entrega a Cristo y a su Iglesia. Nuestro Servidor del Altar del año es Liam McCann, un estudiante de la escuela Dana Hills High School. Él es un acólito sobresaliente, muy fiable y ¡se sigue tratando de averiguar si su cara puede tener una barba o no! ¡Felicitaciones Liam!

Juntos en Cristo;

Fr. Steve

Párroco

There has been much recent talk about the purchase of the Crystal Cathedral by our Diocese. A Cathedral is a very Catholic symbol.  It signifies the seat of the local bishop and the larger church community.  It reminds us how we are connected to each other in faith and in action even when we are some distance from each other.  The soaring structure can be a witness to our diversity and our common understanding to work and pray together. While this is a great opportunity for us as a Diocese to have such a substantial structure with all of its ancillary structures for future ministry opportunities, it will require a major Capital Campaign in order to accomplish the purchase and reconfiguring of the 35 plus acres. This will begin sometime in the near future for us and is distinct from the need I am writing to you about.

This is the time of year when our Bishop asks us to assist the larger Church of Orange in financially supporting the many needed ministries in our Diocese.  While these ongoing economic times have been challenging for all of us, there are many persons who look to the Church for spiritual, emotional and material support.   Our support of the larger efforts of the Church makes it possible to reach out further and deeper than any individual parish can accomplish.

The brochure (mailed to all registered parishioners) depicts the numerous ways your sacrificial giving to this appeal assists the many services the Diocese provides.  If you did not receive yours in the mail, please pick up a brochure in the church or visiit the OCF website. All these services focus on building up the larger community of the Church of Orange.  The Gospel always challenges us to reach beyond our own limited abilities and trust that our combined efforts will be a stronger force for good and grace. 

As your pastor, I thank you for your continued faithfulness and commitment to our parish community of St. Edward the Confessor/San Felipe de Jesus Chapel.  We have been blessed in so many ways by many good folks that we have been able to see those blessings pour out into other communities, especially your generosity to mission countries.  It is our goal to continue to support the work of the Church in both local and international efforts.  To that end, please read on.

Every year, each parish is assessed an amount to raise for the Pastoral Services Appeal.  This year our 'fair share' is $234,000.  Last year we fell short of our goal and we had to dip into our savings to reach last year's goal.  It is my hope that this year we will reach our goal and beyond.  By doing so, all monies over the specified amount will be put towards our ongoing outreach efforts.  If you have made a gift to the PSA in the past, I would ask you to consider increasing your gift this year and if you have not been able to give a gift in the past I ask you to consider what you might be able to gift this year. 

I will be sharing with you more about the PSA at Mass this weekend.  Read more about and donate to the 2012 Pastoral Services Appeal.  Thank you for your support of your parish and the larger Church ministries we share in. 

Together in Christ;

Fr. Steve Sallot, Pastor