An annual financial gift to the parish at Christmas is deeply
personal and prayerful. To provide another way to give and
make it easier for parishioners who wish to offer a Christmas
gift to our parish, the Archdiocese of Dubuque has set up a
special page on its website to give your Christmas gift via credit
or debit card. Your gift will be given directly to Sacred Heart or
St. Luke without any administrative or credit card fees. So,
100% of your gift comes to Sacred Heart or St. Luke, designated
as your Christmas gift to the parish.

Go to www.dbqarch.org/parishChristmas to make a one-time
gift. The site will remain open through Epiphany, January 3,
Thank you for considering a Christmas gift to our parish
this year.

2020 Fundraising Update
As of today, the Our Faith STO has raised $1.8 million in 2020 for the children and families served by the STO. That may seem like a lot, but we still have $4.6 million to raise in order to reach our goal. The STO program is the best opportunity to ensure our doors are open to every child, no matter his or her family income.

As I mentioned in the November 1^st Official Bulletin, we are working to reach prospective STO donors and Catholic school supporters in many different ways. One of those ways is a one-stop webpage for prospective supporters to learn about the STO and contribute their support to our Catholic school families. The link is www.ourfaithsto.org/helptoday. There, prospective donors will find a video to explain what the STO is, who it benefits, our most recent annual report, how individual schools are impacted by STO funds and much more. Please share this webpage with your parishioners.

Additionally, the Our Faith STO video is available to be shared on parish and/or school websites. We also have a shorter version that has been shared on our Facebook page. You can find that here: https://www.facebook.com/OurFaithSTO. I encourage you to share this post on your own Facebook pages.

Thank you again for including the STO bulletin blurbs in your bulletins and for your amazing support. The STO could not be successful without it!

An Urgent Message from Fr. Paul

We are all aware of the high positivity rate of the COVID19 virus in both Jones and Delaware Counties. We have several members of our parishes that have contracted the virus in various stages. So once again it is becoming exceedingly dangerous to gather in large groups.

In consultation with the Lay Directors from both Sacred Heart and St. Luke I have decided to take us back to just offering the one Sunday Mass at 10:30am on Facebook Live, through the end of November. Toward the end of the month we will review this decision and then decide whether or not we will continue this into December.

This will also mean that we will not have in person weekday Masses now through the end of November including the two Masses that were scheduled for Thanksgiving at both parishes. Funeral Masses and Baptisms on Sunday afternoon will be limited to family only. When possible, we may post the funerals to Facebook Live. We do not have any weddings scheduled now until May of 2021.

The Sacred Heart Youth Drive Thru Soup Supper will be postponed for the time being. It will be rescheduled to a new date as soon as possible. The Monticello Food Pantry will always need assistance, especially this winter. Thank you to the youth that have worked so hard on preparing for this event.

Please pray for all those with the virus and for all who have lost their lives to it. Also, pray for all those on the front lines in healthcare that are doing their best to care for the virus patients and those with other illnesses. You are in my prayers as I hope you are in mine. This is a very difficult decision for me and I wish I didn’t have to take the Mass to online only but for safety sake it seems to be the best choice of action at this time.

God bless you, please stay safe, and hopefully we will be together in the Churches again very soon.

Yours in Christ,

Fr. Paul

Greetings! The Our Faith STO provides need-based tuition assistance to over one thousand Catholic school families in the Archdiocese of Dubuque every year, which equates to nearly 40% of all Catholic school students in our Archdiocese. As of today, we have raised 25% of our goal for 2020. Funds raised in 2020 will support children and families served by the Our Faith STO during the 2020-21 school year, which we anticipate being a time of great need, due to the economic impact of the pandemic and recent storms.  Please click the link below for a video where you’ll learn about what the STO does, who it helps and how you can help today.

www.ourfaithsto.org/helptoday

Please contact me with any questions about the STO and please feel free to share this email with others. Thank you and God bless! Jeff Schneider Director of the Our Faith STO Archdiocese of Dubuque, Pastoral Center 1229 Mt. Loretta Ave, Dubuque, IA 52003 O: 563-556-2580, Ext. 219 www.ourfaithsto.org

The Archdiocese wants us to remind you that IRS regulations have
tightened over the past few years. The parishes will not be able to
post donations that are given to us after December 31, 2020. We have
to post the donation to the calendar year that it is received. If we
receive a donation on January 1, 2021, it will be posted to that year,
2021, even if the letter is postmarked prior to December 31st. We
encourage your generosity but we also have to follow IRS rules. Please
arrange your donations for 2020 so that we receive them prior to
December 31, 2020

The Archdiocese wants us to remind you that IRS regulations have
tightened over the past few years. The parishes will not be able to
post donations that are given to us after December 31, 2020. We have
to post the donation to the calendar year that it is received. If we
receive a donation on January 1, 2021, it will be posted to that year,
2021, even if the letter is postmarked prior to December 31st. We
encourage your generosity but we also have to follow IRS rules. Please
arrange your donations for 2020 so that we receive them prior to
December 31, 2020

Celebrate National Vocations Awareness Week November 1-7, 2020from the Education Resource Center (ERC)The resources below can be shared with students and families throughout the week, the month, or the year to help them ~ learn about vocations~ support the vocation to the Priesthood~ begin to reflect upon and discern their own vocationUSCCB Lesson Plans and ResourcesThe USCCB offersvocations lesson plans for grades K-8additional lessons, activities, and resources for grades 6-12a list of best practices for university and young adult ministryExplore these resources and more HERE.Survey: Gifts and Talents and Things I EnjoyKnowing what you enjoy… and what you don’t enjoy,     what you do well… and what you don’t do well          helps you know what God is calling you to do.  Print and distribute a survey HERE.Talk StartersVocation discernment is a result of reflection.Reflection is a result of discussion.Begin discussion with “Talk Starters” HERE.Meet Your Priest!Survey your priest and get to know him like never before!DOWNLOAD or MAKE A COPY and then share the survey form found HERE.Write to Your Priest or to a SeminarianChoose from templates for writing a letter to your priest or a seminarian. Letter options include:blank space to draw pictureswide writing lines with and without sentence startersnarrow lines with and without sentence starters.Find priest letter templates HERE.    Find Archdiocesan priest addresses HERE. Find seminarian letter templates HERE.    View the seminarians, and learn about them by clicking on their name HERE.    Find seminarian addresses HERE.Scripture and PrayerExplore biblical characters and their calling or vocation:11 Bible peopleLinks to scriptureLinks to videos of the people/storiesConnections to lives todayIdeas for praying with the scripture passagesFind all this on one page HERE.Explore More!Many more vocation resources and links to access them include:Posters/Infographics/HandoutsOnline Activities Printable ActivitiesPrayer ResourcesOnline VideosOnline Articles for ParentsFind everything HERE.Looking for More?Pinterest: Vocations – ChildrenPinterest: Vocations – YouthPinterest: Vocations – Young AdultsPinterest: The Archdiocese of Dubuque