Church of St Mary & St Andrew
   Our lady of Lourdes Mission

Dear Parish Family,

As we gingerly open up our parishes for the public worship of God in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, I thought I would like to convey some news. 

During the time when we were closed down, we took the opportunity to put a new floor in the parish hall kitchen. We also painted and patched up some holes. It is looking quite nice. We are in the process of purchasing some shelving for the kitchen. 

Please do take notice of the grotto of Our Lady. Volunteers have spruced it up quite magnificently. Roses, flowers and a good paint job (thank you Fr. VJ) have improved the grotto so much. A benefactor is in the process of purchasing a fountain for the grotto. And if you are able to please drive by the grotto after dusk. You will be pleasantly surprised. We are currently putting up a grotto of St. Joseph just outside the backdoor of the rectory. Volunteers and generous donations have made this happen. 

My next focus is to fix up Our Lady of Lourdes. I would like to establish a committee of volunteers to help spruce up things there from the grotto, to planting flowers etc, to installing the High Altar! Anyone interested please contact Kathleen or call the rectory. 

Letters to the Families of the children who will be receiving their First Holy Communion and Confirmation have been sent out. Families should get them by next week. Please be attentive and look out for it. Please call the rectory if you do not receive the letter by Friday, July 10th. 

Thus far the reopening of the Church for Mass has gone quite well. Many volunteers have stepped up to the plate. Please be on the look out for an updated message from the Archdiocese expanding capacity to 50% from the 25% we are currently in. We will notify you ASAP when this happens. 

On Monday July 6th, I will be leaving to do my mandatory retreat and study session. The Archdiocese requires this for all its priests every year. It is a good thing. Unfortunately some priests do not do this. I will be visiting a shrine dedicated to the only approved apparition of Our Blessed Mother in the United States in Wisconsin. I am looking forward to it. Please be assured of my prayers for all of you while I am away. 

I anticipate opening up a School of Religion in the Fall, including St. Joseph's Workshop. The Archdiocese, working with the State of New York, has allowed for parish halls, school buildings etc to open up at 50% NOW (even as Church's remain at 25% for the time being). 

We will continue to live stream the Mass at 10:00 from Our Lady of Lourdes. Fr. VJ or I will live stream the 11:30 Mass from St. Mary St. Andrew in Ellenville until further notice. 

Please be assured of our prayers for all of you. We can't wait for things to, slowly but surely, get back to 100%. God bless all of you. Thank you for your prayers and support. 

God bless us all,

Fr. Ken and Fr. VJ