AROUND THE PARISH…

ADORATION - The Adoration Chapel is open every Wednesday from 9 am to 5 pm, every Friday from 7 am to 5 pm. While signing up is not required, sign up on the sheet located in the East foyer and you will receive a reminder for your scheduled time. Please use the office door for entry and exit. 
BAPTISM CLASS - Last Saturday of every month at 9:30 am. in the Religious Education Center. Contact Annie Nguyen  832-794-5309 or [email protected] to reserve your spot.
CHOIR - Small Group Practices as per Choir Dir; email [email protected]
GOOD SHEPHERD SHOWCASE - Open the first weekend of April, May, and Sept - Dec before and after all weekend Masses except 5:30 pm.  By appointment, please call or text Darlene Barry (404-630-6624) or call the church office.  
KNIGHTS OF COLUMBUS - Meetings 1st & 3rd Thursday every month, 7pm - 4th Degree follows the 1st Thursday meeting
KC BREAKFAST - 3rd Sunday, every month, 8am-11am, no breakfast during lent
LADIES AUXILIARY OF THE KNIGHTS OF COLUMBUS - Meetings 3rd Thursday of every month, 7 pm
LECTIO DIVINA - Meets every Wednesday after Mass in the Religious Education Center Library to reflect on the following Sunday’s readings
LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR - 1st Sunday of every month
LUNCHKINS - Stella Wolf Text (228) 760-0591, [email protected] 2nd Wednesday, every month, 11:30am - (Summer break from June thru August) Bring a dish and join us for a nice meal and a gathering of fellowship!
MASS & CONFESSION - See “Mass Times & Directions”
MEN'S BIBLE STUDY - Every Thursday (except the 3rd Thursday), 6 pm, in the Religious Education Center Library. 
QUILTERS - Meetings are on the 2nd and 4th Tuesday of the month, 9:30 am, in the Religious Education Center 
SVdP SOCIETY - The office is open to help. Monday 9:30am-12:30pm, & Thursday 9:30am-12:30pm
YOUNG AT HEART LINE DANCE! -  2nd Wednesday of the month, 5:15 pm - 7 pm, Religious Education Center
YOUTH GIFT CARDS (SCRIP) - During office hours, Monday-Fri, 9am-4:00pm 

St. Thomas Financial Report July 1, 2024, to June 30, 2025

Dear Parishioners and Friends of St. Thomas the Apostle Parish,

I have completed my second year serving as your pastor at our beloved parish. I want to extend my heartfelt thanks for your love, support, encouragement, and commitment. I offer my deep gratitude and a humble THANK YOU! THANK YOU! We have accomplished so much together in these two years.

SUMMARY of the YEAR
We continue to make progress in many areas, to name a few: we have welcomed more parishioners to our church family; our weekend and daily Mass attendance is up; we had more people receive the sacraments during this past year; our youth programs continue to increase in participation and engagement; our lay ministers and volunteers have grown from the previous year, drawing more people who are seeking to reinforce their faith through service. Our Adoration Chapel (Wednesday and Friday) continues to have a growing number of Guardians participating. We are also building a new confessional in the church.

FACILITIES OVERVIEW and UPDATE
We have made significant progress in the past year, successfully completing many remaining repair projects with the help of a dedicated team of skilled lay leaders overseeing contractors and subcontractors. Additionally, many craftsmen have generously volunteered their time, talent, and resources, saving the parish tens of thousands of dollars. We have finally replaced our chiller, with installation completed on August 5th, 2025, at a cost of $350,000. We still have several projects under contract, including:

• Bat Intrusion Prevention: Scheduled for after "bat season" in August/September at a cost of $40,000. We have received a $60,000 refund from the previous bat company.
• LED Lighting Conversion: To be completed in the third quarter, costing $47,000. Final payment of $29,000, with Mississippi Power contributing $17,637 directly to the contractor.

In addition to these projects, there will be some ongoing repair and maintenance items that we will tackle throughout the year.

FINANCIAL OVERVIEW and UPDATE
Our parish has collected enough funds to fully pay for the new chiller and continues to enjoy the blessing of being completely debt-free. You responded so incredibly well to my request earlier in the year for our Renovation Fund Capital Campaign (including our ChillOut event), with a goal of $1 million. We brought in $463,000 toward our goal this past fiscal year. Please review the accompanying financial report for the result of the current fiscal year, which ended June 30, 2025, with a comparison to the results from the prior year, June 30, 2024. In addition to the noted capital campaign results, thanks to the generosity of each one of you, our weekly offertory collections are up $226,000, or about 27%. Our expenses have decreased in the current fiscal year due to our ongoing commitment to expense management, as well as relief provided by the Diocese regarding certain annual obligations, including diocesan support and a portion of contributions to support Catholic schools. The Bishop granted this relief to the parish until facility repair issues were resolved and finances stabilized. For the current fiscal year (2026), the parish will have to honor these obligations going forward, resulting in an annual increase in operating expenses of about $145,000.

CONCLUSION
I continue to be so humbly grateful for my assignment as your Pastor. St. Thomas is a wonderful and vibrant parish that continues to encourage your priests. I am so thankful for our wonderful Parochial Vicar, Fr. Braxton, our Deacons Buddy and Jerry, our staff, and the countless volunteers who are helping me in my pastoral ministry. Your continued support is critical in advancing the mission of our parish to bring the love of Jesus Christ into our community, through volunteering selflessly and financial giving, both to our weekly offertory and our Renovation Fund Capital Campaign.

As we remember all those who have gone before us, may they rest in peace. May God continue to bless each of you and your loved ones with good health and peace.

Sincerely,
Your Servant in Christ Jesus,
Fr. Satish Adhav