Weekend of July 15-16, 2023

Dear Friends,

As I write this, I am very conscious of the fact that our Saint Timothy parishioners have been suffering for several very hot and humid weeks without air conditioning in our church.  Most of you know that our air conditioning system is very old (it actually is one of the first church air conditioning systems to be installed in a Philadelphia church, so the basic system is over fifty years old), and has really been hanging on by a very thin thread for several years now. We have poured a lot of money into repairing the system for the past several years, but it seems once one thing is fixed something else breaks. It is, frustratingly, a never-ending cycle.

The reason, of course, that I haven’t been enthusiastic about replacing the system is the astronomical cost I anticipate it will be. I am certain that we are looking at a sum that will easily be in the hundreds of thousands of dollars. It has reached the point, however, where we don’t have a choice but to face the reality of replacing the system. You will certainly be hearing more about this from me in the months ahead, as Tom Sullivan, our Business Manager, and our Finance Committee and I explore options to get a new system in place during the coming winter months.

My prayer is that our present system will get us through this summer. We have been waiting for a replacement for a broken part (another problem with the system’s age is that parts are very hard to get), and as I write this that replacement part has been installed and the air conditioner is up and running.  Please join me in praying that it keeps running. I thank all of you for your patience through all of this. You need to know that our Facilities Managers, Francesco Sifoni and Nick Monica, are working hard to do all that they can to remedy this situation. This has certainly become my priority as well, but there is only so much we can do in the face of many obstacles. I remind you that the air conditioning system at Saint Bartholomew’s works very well, and the weekend Masses there are at 4:00 Saturday evening and 10:00 Sunday morning. I thank you sincerely for your patience and understanding, and I ask for your prayers that this difficult situation will come to a good end, in God’s good time.

The other situation we have been dealing with at Saint Timothy’s is the flooding of the lower church after any heavy rains. This was an issue for several years, and for the past two years or so it seemed to be remedied, but with the onslaught of heavy rains we have been recently experiencing, the problem is back with a vengeance. The rain water comes in to the lower church through the bathroom that is located behind the altar, in the passageway next to the sacristy. The water comes up through the toilet and the maintenance sink in that back room, and it moves into the sacristy and into the lower church itself. The problem is that many of the drains on the lower part of our parking lot and adjacent to our property need to be cleaned out (by the city, since that is their responsibility and only they have the equipment to do it). We are trying to get the city to do this, and this should certainly help, if not eliminate, the problem. Once again, Francesco and Nick have been heroic in the hours they have spent, over and above what they should be spending, in wet-vacking and mopping, and doing everything they can to address this flooding. In the name of all of our parishioners, I thank these men for their fine work and for their dedication to our parish. I thank our daily Mass attendees as well as those who attend the 6:30 Mass on Sundays for their patience when we have had to move Mass to the upper church. Hopefully we can get this situation remedied quickly.

I call to your attention the ad in this bulletin regarding the Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults (R.C.I.A.). This process will be beginning in the fall. This journey of faith is for those adults and young adults who have never been baptized, those who were baptized in another Christian denomination and would like to be received into the Catholic Church, and those who were baptized Catholic but never were catechized and/or never received the sacraments of Eucharist and/or Confirmation. If you know of anyone who falls into any of these categories, please encourage them to call the Rectory to speak with me so that they can begin this journey and be received into the Church at Eastertime.

I remind you about our Parish Raffle summer fundraiser. You should have received a mailing in your home, containing a cover letter from me and five raffle tickets. We are participating in this fundraiser with several other Catholic parishes and institutions. We are asking for a donation of $25 for each raffle ticket, and are asking you to please consider purchasing the raffle tickets for yourself, or selling them to family members, neighbors, or friends. The purchaser keeps the right half of the ticket. The left half of the ticket, along with the payment, should be placed in the envelope enclosed in the mailing for return. We also ask you to include any unsold tickets in the return envelope. All tickets and money should be returned by August 1. The raffle will be drawn on Saturday, August 12, 2023 at 8:00 P.M. and can be viewed live at www.parishraffle.com

The prizes for the raffle are excellent. They are all American Express gift cards, and there are 23 prizes in total. The first prize is a $30,000 gift card; the second prize is a $10,000 gift card; the third prize is an $8,000 gift card; and there are twenty $1,000 prizes.  

I am asking every registered family or individual to participate in this important fundraiser. Besides the excellent prizes, the proceeds are of great benefit to our parish. Again, I am respectfully asking everyone to either purchase the tickets that were included in the mailing or to sell the tickets to someone else. If you didn’t receive the mailing, or would like more tickets to either purchase or sell, there are more tickets available at the rectory. Thank you in advance for your goodness, and for your willingness to participate in this important fundraiser in support of our great parish.

Know that you and those you love are daily remembered in my Mass and my prayers.

                                                                                    Love and prayers,
                                                                                    Father Olivere