June 1, 2024

Dear Epiphany of Our Lord and Saint James, the Greater Parish Family,

It is hard for me to believe that it has been close to a year since Archbishop Rozanski made his All-Things New decisions regarding our two parishes.  In my short time as your pastor, I see more clearly the potential our parishes have to build up our local community and bring people closer to Christ.  The way that our two parishes have come together has fills me with hope for the future and inspires me today.  

St. John Paul II encouraged all Catholics “to remember the past with gratitude, live in the present with enthusiasm and look forward to the future with confidence.”  At this moment, I am extremely grateful for the priests and lay people who have come before me and kept St. James the Greater and Epiphany Parishes growing through the loss of their schools, the global pandemic of the COVID19, and the Archdiocese strategic planning process: All Things New.  

With gratitude and appreciation, I want to move forward living in the present with enthusiasm and look to the future with confidence. I truly believe that our parishes working together can help make not only the Archdiocese of St. Louis better but also our surrounding South St. Louis area as well.  

It is my desire therefore to seize the moment that God has given us to take the initiative and be proactive by introducing our Inspiration bridge fundraiser.  The successful completion of our Inspiration bridge fundraiser will bring to our parishes $180,300 and help our parishes stay out of debt, make/prepare for major repairs, and make investments in our parishes that will demonstrate to others that St. James the Greater and Epiphany of Our Lord Parishes plan to be places where people can seek Christ and share His Gospel for years to come.  

Our Inspiration bridge fundraiser is very simple.  We will have a board with the numbers #1 to #600 written on it. People will be given the opportunity to adopt a number by donating to St. James the Greater and Epiphany of our Lord for the amount of the numbers that he or she is adopting.  For example, if I want to adopt #450, I will donate to the parish for $450.00.  If all numbers are adopted, we will have raised $180,300.  

Some of the funds will be used for our joint programs like Covenant Night, youth groups, etc.  Some of the funds will also be used for maintenance projects that we look forward to addressing with this fundraiser are new AC unit in both Churches, central air for the rectory, parking lots, etc.   

For more information, please see the attached F.A.Q. 

Thank you and God bless,

Fr. Thomas M. Pastorius

Pastor of Epiphany of our Lord & St. James the Greater Parishes