Congratulations to those members of our parish who have supported our Capital Campaign, thus far, and are now beginning to see their gifts put to good use. We finally “broke ground,” which signals the start of the construction of the first two of three phases of our building campaign. The long-awaited renovation and expansion of our existing school will soon enable us to consolidate our student activities and learning areas from 5 buildings into 2 (counting the gymnasium in the Family Life Center). Through the kind generosity of numerous parishioners and friends, we will be better able to provide a safe, updated and modern facility, for our children to learn and grow in faith and service to our parish and the wider community. We are grateful to Bishop Barbarito for granting us the permission to go on with the construction, as well as coming to preside at this past Friday morning’s liturgy and subsequent groundbreaking ceremonies. With many parents, students and friends who were in attendance, we marked another milestone in our parish history. I especially thank Julie Ott, our Parish Director of Stewardship & Development, and her leadership team that spearheaded the fundraising part of the campaign, thus far. She and we have more work that lies ahead of us before we can complete the work that we’ve started. Now we also look for continued prayer and funding support for the successful conclusion of our project. Our theme is: “Living Our Faith; Building Our Future.” If you haven’t yet made a pledge to our Capital Campaign, there is still time for you to do so. Simply call the parish office at (561) 276-6892, and ask to speak with Julie Ott. She will be glad to provide you with the necessary information. Know that our school children will be praying for you and your intention. May God, who has begun this work, bring it to a successful conclusion!
Congratulations to our parish cantor, Dylan Evans, for recently being awarded the Randolph A. Frank Prize of $2,000, as a gift for emerging performing artists. You’ll certainly recognize Dylan’s talented tenor-baritone voice at our weekend Masses. He has been a parish staple for the past two plus years. Besides lending his talents to enhance our liturgies, Dylan performs with the Palm Beach Opera and the Delray Beach Chorale. He also serves on the board of that chorale and teaches voice lessons privately. We look forward to seeing his future accomplishments as he uses his God-given talents for the glory of God and the good of His people.
St. Vincent Ferrer Parish is also proud of parishioner Jeanne Chwalik, director of the South Florida Dynamics baton twirling team. She has led several young ladies in numerous national championships since 2003. Among their many achievements are numerous awards from local, state, national and even international competitions. Some of the competitions were in Australia (gold medal), the Netherlands (2 bronze medals), British Columbia (bronze medal) and Croatia (silver medal). Eight of her team members are currently students at SVF School or parishioners in other schools. All her staff members are graduates of her program and are Catholic (although being such is not one of the requirements). Congratulations to Jeanne and her team! We are always delighted to recognize members of our SVF parish family who use God’s gifts to better their life and the lives of others in our community.
Thank you to our Life Team members, under the dynamic leadership of their director, Cheryl Deneen, for sponsoring their annual dinner this Sunday evening in honor of our priests, deacons and sisters (though not clergy, Sisters are appreciated for their related service, too). Among other observances this month, October is set aside as Clergy Appreciation Month. If you want to show your appreciation to your clergy, pray for them that they may be faithful servants, not like the hirelings mentioned in the Gospel, who flee when the wolves come to snatch the sheep. Let’s also remember to pray often that the Lord of the harvest will send more laborers into His harvest. Msgr. Tom