Dear Friends,

I want to thank parishioners who have supported GET ON THE BUS with your monetary gifts to this great ministry. On May 9, our parish welcomed over 300 guests with breakfast and arts and craft tables for the children who were taking buses to see their mothers and grandmothers at the Women’s Prison in Perryville.  

Thanks to 100 parishioners, the Knights of Columbus, the Lady Knights of Columbus, the Men’s Club, and the Mom’s Group, who provided great hospitality to the families who participated in this special day. GET ON THE BUS provided seven buses, three counselors from Catholic Charities, so that the families had a good day with their loved ones.

The founder from California provided the resources to make this happen, and he recently died. This ministry has been supported so well by many parishioners, and I feel that we can contribute to its ongoing success. It takes about $15,000 each year, and we provided specially marked envelopes for parishioners to support this ministry. On Mother’s Day, so many people took envelopes that they ran out. So any envelope or check given to us marked GET ON THE BUS will be given to that ministry. Any amount over $15,000 will be reserved only for that ministry to be used in the coming years. This should keep this ministry going for a good while.  

I am grateful to the parish and the ministry that we have provided in the past to the prison, and we would like to continue and increase our ministry to the men and women in prisons.  

Peace in Christ,

Fr. Eric