Over the past several months, we have seen how different and difficult it has been to get together not only for liturgical services whether indoor or outdoor, but even to continue with the church’s outreach initiatives. Our ministry leaders and partners needed to rethink how to safely and as effectively cater to the needs of our friends from within and outside of our parish.

Special thanks to the Tri-Valley Community Outreach for the support they have extended to our local Food Bank who in turn has consistently aided hundreds of families each month especially at the onset of the pandemic, to our Faith Formation and Youth Ministry Department for their Adopt-A-Family Program benefitting families from Saint Cornelius in Richmond, to the Women’s Guild for gathering close to 300 gift cards for 25 families in need this year, to the Knights of Columbus for sending in their donations to the church for COVID relief and the food bank.

I would also like to mention how blessed and humbled I am for your overwhelming response to our appeal for help all this time, particularly as we continue to navigate through the challenges of the pandemic, not only financially, but also to how we desire to engage the entire community during this time when we are restricted from being together as often or as close as we can. Know that I am looking forward to that day when we can just put all these behind us, and carry on with lessons learned along the way and broad smiles on our faces.

As a community here at Saint Raymond’s, we are BLESSED. Only through your generosity, and the support and creativity of our amazing volunteers, we were still able to continue with a number of our outreach initiatives, however different the circumstances may be. You are a blessing, and thank you for blessing Saint Raymond’s with your gift of love and desire to serve!