Dear Parishioners,
As we near the end of our 2024–2025 fiscal year, I want to pause and thank you for your faith, presence, and the many ways you’ve helped make this a remarkable year at Saint Thomas More. Guided by the promise “I am with you always” (Matthew 28:20), we’ve seen firsthand how Christ walks with us in every season of life—and how our parish community accompanies each other through life’s biggest moments.
This year, that presence was especially felt in the sacramental life of our community. We welcomed 41 infants into the Church through Baptism, including 4 new babies from our staff families—Youth Ministry Associate Will Johnson, Kindergarten Teacher Nicole Torok, First Grade Teacher Hayley Suthers, and Long–Term Kindergarten Substitute Teacher Anjanette Carr. We celebrated 16 weddings, as couples celebrated love surrounded by their families and supported by our parish. And we mourned with and prayed for those who have lost loved ones, offering 27 funeral liturgies rooted in the hope of eternal life and remembrance.
We also rejoiced as 20 OCIA candidates were received into full communion with the Catholic Church, including three current St. Thomas More Catholic School seventh graders who made the sacraments together! What a blessing. We celebrated 29 children who received their First Communion—both powerful reminders that our faith community continues to grow and reach new families and a growing list of parishioners.
We’ve seen real signs of momentum and hope in our STM community. Our Weekend Mass attendance grew by 8%, and we finished a master planning process with OPN Architects to discern how our spaces can best serve our parish now and into the future. These efforts are signs not just of growth, but of the deep commitment you all bring to the life of this parish.
Help us to continue walking with you and your family during life’s most cherished moments. Through your generous support, we are projected to come close to reaching it. As we enter June—our final month of the fiscal year—we ask you to prayerfully consider making a year-end gift. Our June goal is $159,300, and your support will help us to make our budget and ensure we continue to be there for one another in the most important moments of life. This goal includes a $50,000 stretch to help ensure a strong financial finish to our fiscal year.
Whether you’ve shared your time, your prayers, your financial gifts, or simply your presence at Mass, we are truly grateful. You make it possible for us to say “we are with you always”—at every baptism, every wedding, every farewell, and every moment in between.
Please continue to keep our parish in your prayers, as we do for you. Thank you for being part of this faith community.
Gratefully yours in Christ,
Fr. RJ Fichtinger, SJ Fr. Peter Etzel, SJ
Pastor Associate Pastor