A Message from Fr. Jim - 4.3.2020

May the peace of Christ be with you and your loved ones!

The priority of St. Elizabeth Church is to care for our families and minister to all in every way we can.

The Diocese of Richmond has suspended all public Masses until further notice. Bishop Knestout will be updating us regularly. You can check the diocesan website for these updates at https://richmonddiocese.org/coronavirus.

Through all of this, St. Elizabeth Parish will remain a community of faith, hope and trust in the Lord and continue to share His blessings with each other. We are moving forward with new ways to minister to our parish families, including:

1. Email: If you are not receiving e-mails but you do have an Email address, please send that Email address to stelizcc@verizon.net so we can add you to our distribution list.

2. Celebrating Masses: Live Sunday Mass will be celebrated on Zoom. We will send an email with the time and the link to join. We also plan to add Masses at 6 PM Wednesdays and Noon on Friday as well as a nightly Rosary after Easter.

3. Utilizing our parish’s website, and blog: Please visit us there for the latest parish news, photos and other resources we are providing.

4. Facebook: This is also the best place to check in with each other, share prayer requests and continue to live as a community.

5. Phone tree: We are working on a parish wide phone tree in order to make personal contact with each household weekly. If you have not gotten a call this past week, please call Janet Stern at 804-921-3302 or email your contact information to jstern@stelizcc.org.

We are committed to making the most of this time and to help draw families closer to Christ. In times of crisis, people look to Christ and his Church. St. Elizabeth will be here to serve.

There are three things that I’m asking you to do right now, today:

1. Pray. Remember God does not abandon his children. Please join me in praying for the following:

• All the sick and suffering around the world, and families affected by the coronavirus
• Those who are struggling financially because of this crisis.
• First responders, medical personal and all government leaders.
• Our parish, your pastor, bishop and the Holy Father in Rome.

2. Follow us on:

Our website https://www.stelizcc.org/

On our blog http://stelizabethcc.blogspot.com/

On Facebook Go to https://m.facebook.com/StElizabethCatholicChurch/ . “Follow” us and “like” our page. You will be connected to posts and information about Masses online and be able to interact with our community.

3. Continue to support our parish. I want to express my heartfelt gratitude for the continued financial stewardship of parishioners and friends during this difficult time. With public Masses suspended, and our parish closed, I am asking every family, if you are financially able, to either

A. Mail stewardship contributions to St. Elizabeth Catholic Church, 1301 Victor St., Richmond VA 23222

B. Or consider moving your financial support online:

1. On our website https://stelizcc.churchgiving.com/ Please consider setting up a recurring gift to help our parish for the future.

2. You can also find giving options online https://offertory.richmonddiocese.org/ . On the giving page, choose St. Elizabeth Richmond, parish #509, in the drop-down list.

If you need assistance with online giving, please contact Janet Stern 804-921-3302 jstern@stelizcc.org . Your gifts will support our human concerns ministry and our ongoing operations. God bless you for your generosity!

I will continue to provide updates, primarily through our Email, on our website, our blog, Facebook and occasionally through email.

If you are not receiving e-mails but you do have an Email address, please send that Email address to stelizcc@verizon.net so we can add you to our distribution list.

Please know that you are in my prayers. Have faith! Let us rally together behind what is most important in our lives – God, family, and our St. Elizabeth community.

In Christ

Blessings and be well,

Fr Jim Arsenault

PS feel free to email jarsenault@stelizcc.org or call 804-921-3302