From the Desk of Fr. Dan (January 16, 2022) Thank you to everyone who helped to take down the Christmas decorations last Sunday. The task was accomplished quickly and efficiently. Also, thank you to all our pasty sale workers for making our January pasty sale a success. This fundraiser is entirely supported by the dedication and effort of volunteers and provides valuable resources to our parish. We are now in the liturgical season of Ordinary Time until March 2, Ash Wednesday, when Lent begins. In Ordinary Time we focus on the ministry of Jesus in a general way. In the other liturgical seasons, we focus on specific aspects of the life and ministry of Jesus. January 18–25 is the International Week of Prayer for Christian Unity. Recourses for this week of prayer are available on the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops website: https://www.usccb.organd on the website of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity: https://www.christianunity.va. The theme of this year's Week of Prayer for Christian Unity is “We saw the star in the East, and we came to worship him.” Because of the surge of COVID infections and hospitalizations in our area we are asking everyone to wear N95, KN95 or KN94 face masks at St. Christopher Church. These masks are more effective at preventing the spread of the Omicron variant which is highly transmissible. Cloth masks do not provide sufficient protection against the Omicron variant. If you do not have a N95, KN95 or KN94 face mask we have KN95 masks available at the entrances of the church. We are getting close to our UPCSA goal for this year. Thank you to everyone who made a pledge so far. Any additional pledges to help us meet our goal would be greatly appreciated. Thank you for your faithful stewardship!