Church

Dear Brothers and Sisters, Every week in the bulletin we post simple financial statistics: How much we need to meet our budget and how much we have received in the past week. From time to time, it is worth sharing more detailed information so you can know how your gifts to the parish are being handled. Father Ballard is better at details than I am, so over the years I have relied on him to draft the annual budget. Together we plan the operating needs of the parish. These include overheads …

Today is Christ the King Sunday, the last Sunday of the Church Year. Next Sunday, a new Church Year begins with the First Sunday of Advent on Dec. 3, 2023. That day will usher in a period of preparation for Christmas. Advent is a time that in some ways is analogous to the penitential preparations made for Easter during Lent, thus the use of the color violet and the omission of the Gloria in the liturgy. In order to be prepared to properly observe Advent, and to reap all of …

Dear Brothers and Sisters, Seven years ago, on Advent Sunday 2016, the beautiful new Our Lady of the Rosary Church was dedicated. For over fifty years the people of OLR had prayed and worked and dreamed about worshipping in a building worthy of Our Lord and his Blessed Mother and finally, after much sacrifice and hard work, the prayers were answered and the dreams completed. Since then, the ministry of our parish and school has continued to advance, and now to meet the growing need, the dated and crumbling buildings …

Dear Brothers and Sisters, I most often address local issues in my pastor’s letter because it is not my place to pontificate about politics or international affairs. However, the current conflict in the Middle East is an issue of interest for all people of the three Abrahamic faiths. The three Abrahamic faiths are Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Jews look to Abraham as their Father of Faith through their descent from Abraham’s son Isaac. Muslims look to Abraham as their Father of Faith through Ishmael, Abraham’s son by his concubine Hagar. …

The 6:00 pm Mass on Wednesday, Nov. 22, will be celebrated as a Mass of Thanksgiving. There will be NO daily Mass on Thursday, Nov. 23, however, the daily Mass on Friday, Nov. 24, will be celebrated as usual in Lower Church. School and Parish Offices will be closed Nov. 22-24, and will reopen on Monday, Nov. 27. School will be dismissed at NOON on Tuesday, Nov. 21, and closed through the holidays, with classes resuming on Monday, Nov. 27. …

Dear Brothers and Sisters, Every year in October the folks at the Diocese require us to take attendance at all the masses. This is a good opportunity to gather statistics to see how we’re doing. This year’s October Mass count included the new weekend Mass at 8 am. The average number of people attending the Saturday vigil Mass was 193. On Sunday at 8:00 the average attendance was 170. At 10:30, an average of 438 attended Mass and at 5:00 on Sunday the average number was 271. This indicates a …

The Knights of Columbus will hold a spaghetti dinner fundraiser on Saturday, Nov. 18, after the 5:00pm Mass in the OLR gym. Proceeds will benefit special needs charities including Special Olympics. Beer and wine will be available. Adult meals are $10, children under 12 are $7, families are $45. Please RSVP stephen.gans.jr@gmail.com – not required but appreciated. …

The bedside of a dying loved one is an anguished place to be. We are torn, hoping and praying for healing, trying to think of everything we can do to bring comfort: spoon-feeding for nourishment, fetching another blanket for warmth, offering assistance to sit up or get out of bed. We resist the thought that our loved one will die, that it is time to call a priest. Yet of all the things you could do in these moments, the most important is to pray for the soul of your …

My friends in Christ, This weekend is particularly joyous for our Parish as diaconate candidate Brian Hansen will receive the institution of lector and I will receive the institution of acolyte. These ministries hold for us a profound meaning as they are the steps taken toward ordination into the Permanent Diaconate for the Diocese. In the Vatican II Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy, Sacrosanctum Concilium, St. Pope Paul VI re-instituted the permanent diaconate setting the necessary parameters for formation. In his motu propio, Ministeria Quaedam, he suppresses the original four …

This week the Pastor’s Letter is from Brian Hansen, Deacon in Training Explaining the Ministry of Lector By way of introduction, I am a long-time parishioner of Our Lady of the Rosary Parish and a candidate for the Permanent Diaconate. God willing, I will be ordained as a deacon for the Diocese of Charleston in February 2026. Formation for the Permanent Diaconate in our diocese is a five-year process involving a period of discerning God’s calling followed by formal education leading to a Master of Arts degree in theology, along …

Dear Brothers and Sisters, From time to time it is important to be reminded of the church’s ministry to the sick, the dying and the dead. All of us are to be mindful of our deaths and the deaths of our loved ones, and it is a great comfort to know that the Good Shepherd walks with us through the valley of the shadow of death. If you or a loved one are facing a serious surgery or a serious illness please contact the parish office and request one of …