This weekend, I am attending the Outreach Conference in Washington, DC and on Monday, I will begin my annual retreat at the Cor Maria Retreat House in Sag Harbor, New York. Please pray for me and all those attending the conference and all my brother priests who will be with me on retreat. I will look forward to being with you again next weekend, especially as we celebrate Back to School Sunday and the “Blessing of the Backpacks” at the 10:00am Mass next Sunday, August 11. Can it really be back to school time already?!?

This summer has been especially productive for the buildings and grounds here at St. Margaret of Scotland. So much work had happened on our campus over the last few months. Some of the work was unplanned, like the cleanup work that had to happen in the Church Hall after the flooding at the end of July, but other work had been planned for the summertime. I would like our parish family to be aware of all the work that has happened, all the money that has been spent, and all the time and energy that has been given by so many on our staff and by contractors and vendors.

The work on our front Church doors has probably been the most obvious to everyone, since the front door of Church are well, literally front and center! Moss Restoration has spent weeks stripping, repairing, and refinishing the inside out outside doors, transoms, and hardware so that they will last for many more years. Because doors are exposed to the outside elements, they require constant care and maintenance. This was a project costing $78,000, though the parish received a Parish Viability Grant of $30,000 from the Archdiocese of St. Louis for this work.

In addition to the Church doors, the following projects have been ongoing this summer:

• The cleanup of the Church Hall after the July 16 flood
• A fire suppression system has been added to the kitchen in the Church Hall
• The lighting in the Church Hall has been repaired and upgraded
• Security cameras have been installed in the sacristy and outside the sacristy door
• A drop safe for the Sunday collection has been installed in the sacristy
• A new lock has been installed on the sacristy door
• Plaster has been repaired on the living quarters of the rectory
• Plastering and painting at Faith and St. Joseph school buildings
• New motors have been installed in the HVAC units of Faith & St. Joseph school buildings
• New flooring has been installed in the Resource Room in Faith Hall school building
• New flooring has been installed and Chris Stephens’ Office has been painted
• Masonry at the school buildings and rectory has been repaired
• New fencing is to be installed around the school campus
• The roof of Faith Hall at the School is being replaced and should be finished before the start of school
• Landscaping at the school campus is ongoing, including cutting down dead trees

All these projects have happened because of the expertise of so many contractors and vendors, and the coordination of so many members of our parish staff, including Carmela Garza, Deborah Elliott, Patrick Holley, and Joe McManemy. We are only able to complete these projects because of your generosity in the Sunday collection week after week, and we will only be able to continue projects like these in the future if that generosity continues. Thanks for your support of St. Margaret of Scotland Parish and School!