Dear Friends,

It seems during this time of pandemic and the crisis of dealing with racism in our country  finally, perhaps, finally–a bit of good news is in order.  As a parish, you have been very generous financially during these difficult times when we are all trying to stay safe and well and can’t be together as a result.  It was the decision of your board to continue our gifting to those less fortunate during this time.  Please see below the gifts that were made in your name: All gifts were in the amount of $300 unless otherwise indicated:

1. April–Habitat for Humanity in Winona had an emergency drive because their two fundraisers had to be cancelled due to COVID 19.
2. May–Doctors without Borders  asked for funds to assist the Navaho Nation in our country to deal with COVID 19. (this was unusual for them because their work is usually outside our country).
3. The Rochester Franciscan Sisters sponsored what they called, “Diaper Dash” which assisted immigrants with everyday necessities for babies and children.
4. June–St. Anne of Winona Foundation has a project at present of building outdoor patio areas for their residents–in the beginning of the month, we gave a gift in honor of Eric Bartleson being that he was very involved there, as a member on their board and then living there several weeks during his illness.
5. After Eric’s death we gave an additional gift of $200–my stipend for doing his funeral–I had told the family that they didn’t need to give me a gift as Eric was a member of our parish, but if they still wished to, we would gift it back to St. Anne’s.

So, my friends, I wanted to let you know of the ways we were able to share your gifts to the parish!

Peace and love, Pastor Kathy