September  2019
 
Dear Friends & Families, 
On the evening of April 15, 2019, the whole world watched in horror as Paris’ 850-year-old Notre Dame Cathedral was engulfed in flames. The spire of this iconic cathedral collapsed, and people were captivated by the unfathomable and devastating destruction of a building so rich with art, Parisian history, and Catholicism. However, less than 24 hours after the smoke subsided, support and love from around the world responded in droves to rebuild and restore the cathedral.
While the destruction of this beautiful cathedral was heartbreaking, there is something incredible and invigorating within the promise of a new, revitalizing life for this incredible historic monument. Just like Notre Dame Cathedral, our parish and community sometimes needs to rebuild and restore. There is something magnificent and holy about the uniting of a parish community to build and make strong all its members. Without the Holy Name of Mary community, God Squad would not be possible, and we might never see the promise that tomorrow holds.
We see the growth of our God Squad teens at every meeting and event that we attend, and we hope that you are able to see it as well. These teens thrive for a place to be themselves, and a place where they know they are loved, and God Squad has been that place for many years. The mission of God Squad is to offer our young adults fulfillment in the areas of spirituality, continued education of their faith and community service. Below is a partial list of partners and service projects that we remained committed to this past year:
 

• Providing soup for runners in the Harry Chapin Run Against Hunger
• Annual Homelessness Awareness Sleepout for CHHOP
• Fall and Spring Cleaning for our parish senior citizens

                                                                                                                                               
We are proud to say that our God Squad Youth Ministry currently has over 40 active members.  Holy Name of Mary is fortunate enough to provide this youth ministry service at no cost to the young adults, and we hope to continue to be able to do so. This ministry costs the parish approximately $10,000 annually and we try to raise all or most of that money through this appeal letter in addition to some of the big community events that we do each year.
 
We are asking for your financial support so that we can continue to offset the youth ministry’s expense to the parish.  Your generous support is needed for:

• Scholarship opportunities for some of our members to attend CYFM retreats
• Meals and supplies for some of our service projects
• Social events such as Fall apple picking, trips to Manhattan for Catholic Underground, movie nights, Christmas & summer BBQ celebrations and more
• Personnel costs

 
We hope that you will consider making a contribution to the future of this wonderful Church ministry. If you would like to make a contribution to help our ministry build and grow, you may do so in a number of ways:

• Drop a check in the weekly collection made out to Holy Name of Mary, with God Squad Youth Ministry listed in the Memo line of your check
• Drop off a donation at the Parish offices Monday – Friday between the hours of 9:00am - 5:00pm and Saturdays between the hours of 9:00am - 12:00pm

 
You can also support us by sharing our God Squad events with family and friends that are interested in getting involved. Our schedule of events will be in the bulletin as well as on Instagram (@hnmgodsquad). Please also feel free to subscribe to Holy Name of Mary’s Flocknotes, where you will get a weekly God Squad email and parish updates!
 
Thank you for your continued support!
 
Lindsay Gilbert                                               Carl Barnes                                                    
Youth Minister                                                Adult Youth Minister
Holy Name of Mary                                        Holy Name of Mary