Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
My heart goes out to the many parishes in our Diocese who are suffering due to the COVID-19 Pandemic shutdown. Thanks to your generosity, our parish of St. Nicholas & St. William has been able to stay afloat financially, but many parishes in the poorer areas of our Diocese are struggling just to stay alive.
I was aware that St. Leo the Great Parish, in downtown San Jose, was one of those parishes in most need of assistance. (If that name sounds familiar, it was where Fr. Enzie was assigned several years back.) I reached out to their new Pastor, Fr. Steve Kim, to see what assistance we might be able to offer. He shared with me some of their significant financial challenges and we discussed some ideas which I subsequently brought to our Parish Council.
After reviewing their financial situation, our council recommended that we propose a $50,000 “Helping Hand” matching fund. Every dollar Fr. Steve is able to raise to address his deficit will be matched with one dollar from our Parish up to $50,000. (All funds raised above this amount will go toward reducing their debt.) Fr. Steve was overjoyed with the proposal and was particularly grateful that it allows him to involve his own parishioners, as well.
The purpose of this note is to invite you to consider joining me in raising this $50,000 to lend a “Helping Hand” to our sister parish in need, St. Leo the Great. (I have included links to Fr. Steve’s video appeal, letter and the details regarding their finances at the bottom of this note.)
I know that the holidays are just around the corner, so I am praying that together we can reach this goal by November 1st, All Saints’ Day. Please prayerfully consider helping a parish in need either by making an online donation (link below) or by mailing in a check to St. Nicholas & St. William(note “St. Leo Match” in memo line).
Aware of everyone’s unique financial circumstances, a gift of any amount is truly valued and appreciated. As always, I am grateful for your constant generosity not only to our parish but beyond. Please be assured of my prayers.
Sincerely yours in Christ,
Fr. John Poncini, Pastor
(P.S. If you are interested in helping Fr. Steve on the capital improvements he mentions toward the end of his video, please call our office and we will connect you with him.)