Next weekend, the Church around the world will be observing World Mission Sunday. Even as we may struggle with challenges here at home, on World Mission Sunday, we are called to remember in a special way the great needs of the Church, and her life-giving service, in the Developing World. We should dedicate ourselves to prayer, personal sacrifice, and generous financial support for more than 1,150 dioceses throughout Asia, Africa, the Pacific Islands, and remote regions of Latin America. In times of tragedy—such as natural disasters—our mission family looks to the Church for help and hope. World Mission Sunday celebrates our unity as a human family and provides an opportunity to support the life-giving presence of local priests, religious and lay catechists among the suffering and poor of the missions. As always your prayers are a most treasured gift to the Missions. The envelope to contribute to this important collection is in your envelope packet. God bless you for your generosity!
I occasionally hear from members of the parish or get notices from the Diocese’s Office of Information Technologies about various email phishing scams where parishioners receive emails, purported to be from their pastor or a member of their parish’s staff, asking the parishioner/victim to buy gift cards or furnish personal information for some reason or another. These scams, often originating in lawless countries far away, are intended to gain access to your personal identification. Please know that neither I nor any member of the parish staff nor anyone representing the Diocese of Greensburg will ever contact you by email making any request of this kind. If you receive such an email or a phone call, please call the parish office or speak directly to me or a member of the parish staff before you ever give out any personal information. If it is an email scam, the authorities can be contacted and we can let our Diocesan Office of Information Technologies work on it as well.
With the month of October underway, we are conducting the annual October Count each weekend. Every year, during the month of October, all the parishes in the diocese do a literal “head count” of how many people are attending Mass. These counts are important in statistical reporting, especially in helping the diocese and parishes determine long-term trends in Mass attendance, which aid greatly in planning for the future. The month of October is chosen because there are no major Church feasts or holydays during the month, vacation season is over, school is in session, and the weather is generally still good...all factors which lead to “normal” Mass attendance.