The Good Lord blessed Dolores Shaughnessy and her brother, Father Richter. Father Richter served his retirement here, particularly in St Mary Church. He celebrated the sacraments with reverence and compassion, giving so many people in this community hope and the peace of our Lord Jesus.

His sister, Dolores, was just as inspirational to the community. She was such a dear and loving soul. She had a great love for St Mary Church, and the community meant a great deal to her. In her appreciation for the community and for her Lord Jesus, she left a bequest to St Mary Church that will pay our 2019 debt, unpaid bills for this year, and fix some major structural problems in the church and rectory. The timing could not have been better. The Lord took good care of Dolores, and Dolores wanted to take care of our church. We praise God for such a lovely gift.

We should not take this gift for granted. We need to continue to do our part for our community. Now is the time to see how we can respond to the generosity of our Lord Jesus and Dolores. Our Lord Jesus is setting our fears aside, enabling us to look forward to building our community according to His plan. Gone are the days of fear, ushering in a new time of hope and fruitfulness for St Mary Church.

Are you willing to be part of that future? Along with completing the needed repairs, making the church building more welcoming, we will also need some help from volunteers in many aspects to enliven the community. I am putting together some ideas for various ministries that have fallen to the side. It may take some time to get everything organized and find the right people for the ministries we need to address. I hope you will prayerfully think about what you can do to contribute to making St Mary’s thrive as a vibrant part of Freeport. Please share with me your ideas and thoughts on how we can accomplish these goals together to ensure the future of St Mary Church.