Dear St. Mark Parish Family,
We continue our long fight with COVID-19 and as things were just easing up a little bit, some businesses were opening up and we started our First Phase of re-opening of public Mass; the tragic death of George Floyd shook the whole country again. The events that followed the death of Mr. Floyd have affected all of our lives, especially the poor, the homeless and those who are most in need. The lines at the local food banks in the greater Bridgeport area are longer than usual because many people have lost their jobs and food banks are overwhelmed by the need of the poor. Therefore we have decided to do another food collection drive on Saturday, June 13, 2020, from 10 a.m. to 12:00 Noon. This time all the food collected will go to the Blessed Sacrament parish food pantry. They are located in the poorest part of Bridgeport and donate about 650 bags of food every week. The procedure to drop off food items will be same as we did on May 2nd: please put food items in bags and place them in the trunk of you car, drive up to Parish Center (gym) entrance area, open your trunk and our volunteers (members of the Knights of Columbus and fathers' club) will collect them and deliver them to Blessed Sacrament parish.
Following is the list of non-perishable food items you can donate:
Peanut Butter and jellies
Canned tuna of all kinds
Both hot and cold cereals
Rice, pasta, and noodles
Spaghetti sauce, both plain and with meat
Soups, but especially hearty soups
Canned beans of various kinds
Powdered milk in individual packets
Breakfast treats
Coffee and Tea
Apple sauce
Hamburger helper
Canned chili
Sandwich products
Canned fruits
Mac and Cheese
Ravioli and beefaroni
Canned vegetables.
Whenever there is an appeal to help the poor, St. Mark parish has always stepped up and I am very grateful for your generosity and I am confident that this time also we will do our part to help our poor neighbors. Thank you in advance and may God bless you and your loved ones!
Yours in the Lord,
Fr. Birendra