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The Ontario Government has outlined revised capacity limits for our churches. The capacity limit is now restricted to how many people can get in the church with proper social distancing. It is no longer based on a percentage of the maximum capacity. Based on our experience previously, with social distancing, we know the maximum numbers allowed in each church and extended worship space. Registration for mass is still necessary so that we can manage the limits for each church. Similarly, we continue with protocols that have been in place for some time including: masks must be worn to protect others hand sanitization to protect the Priests and others answering the COVID-19 questions before coming to Mass We look forward to seeing you back in church and we continue to pray that restrictions will be lessened in the future.

2 jobs available. Click the title for details

Miriam has decided to retire after 25 and half years working for the St. Anne's Parish and Elgin Roman Catholic Family of Parishes. Miriam's last day of work is July 9. She has been the 'face' of the community and has developed many great relationships over the years. Miriam will be sadly missed by many and leaves a big gap in the office. As we await a time to have a proper celebration to express our thanks, we would like to collect a spiritual bouquet, some thoughts or stories and finally, if you have any photos from over the years. Please send them to myself at bbray@dol.ca or send by mail to; St. Anne's Parish, 20 Morrison Drive St. Thomas, ON N5R 4S6 On behalf of the entire team at Elgin Roman Catholic Family of Parishes, we want to wish you all the best in the next chapter of your life.

We arepleased to announce that we have found an Event Manager for the St Anne Centre. Sharon Lechner, of Events by Sharon, will start immediately. Sharon brings a wealth of experience and knowledge around event planning. She has been running her own Event Planning business - Events by Sharon- for the past 10 years and has planned and delivered on many large events in the area including L'Arche, Elgin-St. Thomas Community Foundation, Tall Ships Festival and many more. As well, Sharon is a certified meeting planner (CMP) and has certification for Virtual Meetings and Events (VEMM). She is professional and a delight to her clients. In her role, Sharon will be the main contact for the Centre's clients (internal and external) and will plan and execute the events. She will coordinate with the client, caterers, decorators, bartenders, and others involved in delivering successful events. Sharon will also look at promoting and marketing the Centre to gain more business. This is great news for the St. Anne Center. As COVID restrictions are lessening, it provides the Centre with the potential for new and returning clients. Please welcome Sharon to her new position! If you have current or upcoming needs for any event, please contact Sharon at the SA Centre phone number 519 631-5210.

Youth (grades 9-12) and Young Adults are invited to participate in an interactive series during the months of July and August 2021, that combine: live praise and worship music with guest band Found Together and local talents; opportunity to chat with Bishop Joseph Dabrowski, CSMA, on the topic of ‘Sports and Faith;’ and communal prayer. New special guests will join the conversation each week, please save the dates: July 8, July 22, August 5, and August 19, 2021, from 7:30pm – 9:00pm, daily. As a tribute to the Diocese's annual summer camp (CCLC) that will not take place in-person this year, participants are encouraged to join the conversation with an ice cream (sundae) in hand! To register as a live performer (music), or participant, please contact familyandyouthministry@dol.ca.

Welcome summer! For the first time, Coordinators of ministry with families and young people (in grades 1-6) have collaborated to create activity packs that include a combination of online and offline activities that are rooted in faith, and encourage family connectedness, all while having fun. Activities will engage subscribers in current themes of the Amoris Laetitia Family Year, and the Year of St. Joseph. Registration for a physical kit from participating parishes, or a digital version from the Diocese, is now open at this link. Please help spread the word about this faith-based family resource in your communities. For more information, please contact familyandyouthministry@dol.ca.

May 2021 Update

The College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario (CPSO) are currently holding consultations on several of their policies, including the sections that take away conscience protections for the doctors they regulate. Now that Bill C-7 has passed, greatly expanding access to euthanasia, it is critical that we support physicians who are committed to helping their vulnerable patients live, not hastening their death. Several years ago, the late Cardinal George of Chicago, in a talk to a group of priests, tried to express what he thought the complete secularization of our society would bring. He said: "I expect to die in bed, my successor will die in prison and his successor will die a martyr in the public square. …" We are all too familiar with how our society has become secularized with many foundational Christian principles, and rights, regularly cast aside. The denial of conscience rights of medical professionals is just one of many recent examples. Here is a link that will allow you to find out more information and to send a message to the College to state that you support conscience rights. You may edit the letter with your own personal comments.

The Holy Family Retreat House Advisory Board is currently taking applications for board members. The Advisory Board is made up of individuals who are passionate about the Retreat House and want to contribute to its success and serve the spiritual needs of our Diocese and other groups. If you would like to be considered for a position, which currently meets every 4-6 weeks, send an email to cbondy@dol.ca and share the gifts you think you would bring as a new board member.

Fr. Sebastian continues to take time with his family in India. Fr. Sebastian's father has improved in his health condition, although still tenuous. Fr. Sebastian keeps us up to date with his family and also the situation in India. He is very cautious concerning the Covid outbreak there and all his family are safe and well looked after. We continue to pray for Fr Sebastian and his entire family. He wants to thank you for your prayers for him! Previous message: We have been in dialogue with and supported by his superior, the bishops, and the priest personnel office. Fr. Sebastian’s father has had some very serious health issues for the past year and continues to decline in health. His mother is his father’s primary caregiver. His sister and brother are out of the country and making arrangements to go home to visit their father and mother. Fr. Sebastian will have 2 weeks quarantine at home, once he arrives, and then will have his 4-week vacation. He will be returning on the 6th of June and will be in a 2-week quarantine here in Canada. This will be a blessed time for Fr Sebastian, who was not able to return home since Covid restrictions hit the world. Fr. John and I will be looking after things in the ERCFP. We will have to make some adjustments once the present ‘stay at home order is lifted. We will let you know what those adjustments are. We send Fr Sebastian with our prayers, blessings, and support. Please include Fr. Sebastian and his family in your daily prayers. We will keep you informed as we can. St. Joseph – Pray for him and his family St. Theresa the Little Flower – Pray for him and his family Sincerely, Fr Graham

Every year since 2006 the Apostolic committee has held an annual walk to raise funds to build homes in Cambodia. We have lost track of how many families we have given a home. But it is well over 100. Over the years several parishioners have travelled to Cambodia to help build homes and see that part of the world. We mix doing good deeds with education and fun. We have been to Vietnam, Thailand and Singapore as well as Hong Kong. Some have been two or three times. If you are interested in going on an adventure like this let us know.

Share Lent - Double your Impact Thanks to a group of generous religious communities, from Ash Wednesday (February 17) to Pentecost (May 23), new donors who sign up for monthly contributions will see their contributions matched for a year, dollar-for-dollar, up to a maximum of $130,000. This means that your monthly donations will have DOUBLE the impact for our partners in the Global South! Visit www.devp.org/shareyearround to join the Share Year-Round program.

Our Permanent Deacon Intern, Dan O'Connor, is providing Lenten reflections that are being used in our family of schools. We are making the videos available to all our families so that there can be a connection to school, church, and family. "A family that prays together, stays together." Click the title and follow the link for the videos.

Women's Inter-church Council of Canada (WICC) has produced a one-hour full-service video. This video will be available on the WICC website wicc.org Providing grants & prayers for women and children facing injustices WICC (Women's Inter-Church Council of Canada) focuses on helping women and children who face injustices. Find out more about us. wicc.org starting February 15th. This video service was written by women in Vanuatu, a group of over eighty islands located in the South Pacific, east of Australia. The theme is "Build on a Firm Foundation" based on Matthew 7:24-27. It is the World Day of Prayer service for 2021. Please join our sisters in Christ in prayer.

Letter from Bishop Fabbro