St John’s Parish will again show its solidarity with those in need by collecting funds for a Lenten Gift. This year’s gift will be: Rebuilding in Faith – Supporting St. Margaret Mary’s Parish, Staten Island, NY after Hurricane Sandy’s Devastation. Throughout Lent, the plight of this coastal parish community serving the Midland Beach area and its “grass roots” effort to rebuild peoples’ homes and lives will be shared with you in our weekly parish bulletins and on the parish website.
For many years, in preparing for Lent, St. John’s Parish has made the decision to reach out to one particular suffering amid so many in the world. We establish this connection during Lent: a season of prayer and giving, when our parish has a rich history of sacrificial giving. Recent examples include: refugee and famine support in East Africa, text books and teacher stipends for an impoverished school in Haiti, a computer lab for an inner-city school in Lowell, medical supplies for a hospital during the earthquake rescue in Haiti, support for a solar energy project in the Congo for the missions of the Sisters of Notre Dame. Our Lenten gift strengthens each of us individually and the parish as a community of faith, as we give witness to Christ’s call to “Love One Another. As I have loved you” (John 13:34).
This year, in solidarity with the staff and people of St. Margaret Mary’s Parish and the surrounding community, which was devastated by Hurricane Sandy, we will collect funds to help rebuild homes and the lives of those who have lost them. Lent’s clarion call to love extravagantly is what Lent is all about. How blessed we are to be able to bring the warmth and love of our parish and homes to those attempting to Rebuild in Faith.
