From the Desk of Fr. AJ 6/16/2024

Dear Friends,

Happy Summer! I have some exciting news to share with you:

After a year of being the only priest here at St. Peter’s, we are getting a second priest as of July 1st, 2024! Fr. Paul Houlis is a good priest who has been ordained for 13 years. He comes to us fresh off of some time working with both Catholic Cemeteries and Mercy House in Newark. In addition to being a much needed assist to me, I hope and pray that he will be an amazing fit here at St. Peters. I have known Fr. Paul for many years and look forward to sharing ministry with him. Please join me in making him feel welcome when he arrives on July 1st!

Also, we will be putting a new roof on the entire church building this summer which will cost around $260,000. Our current roof is desperately in need of repair. I am working with the contractor to avoid disruptions to our normal summer life but as it is a 6-7 week project, I ask everyone to be flexible through the course of this much needed project. Please consider assisting us fund this project by donating to the Annual Appeal if you have not already done so. We are currently just a few thousand dollars shy of our goal of $94,000. If we reach it by June 30th, we will receive back almost $30,000 and will hopefully receive an Annual Appeal Grant, which would bring us between $25,000-$50,000. At this point, we would have all the funds we need for the new roof, without dipping into money that needs to go elsewhere.

I am excited for the future of St. Peters and hope you are too! Looking forward to seeing all the places that ‘Flat St Peter’ will go this summer!

In prayer,

Father AJ

Rev. Andrew J. DeSilva