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195 Amicks Ferry Road, Chapin SC 29036

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Dear Friends,

This Friday and Saturday are a First Friday and a First Saturday. I will hear Confessions from 10:00AM until 11:30AM on both days followed by Mass at 12 Noon. On First Friday we will have Adoration after Mass until Benediction at 11:45AM on Saturday. Please sign up for May's First Friday/First Saturday Adoration!

Life Teen Cinco de Mayo Silent Auction – Bid Now Online! Even if you can't join us for the Cinco De Mayo Fiesta Dinner this Friday, you can still join the fun and support our teens! Our Cinco de Mayo Silent Auction is open online now through Friday, 2 May at 9:00 PM. Bid HERE! All proceeds help send 40 of our teens to NCYC (National Catholic Youth Conference) — a powerful weekend of faith, worship, and community with over ten thousand Catholic teens from across the country.
Thank you for your support, and happy bidding!

As you enter for Mass this weekend, a Mother's Day Remembrance Card can be found on the Offertory Table should you care to write on it to remember your family members, loved ones, friends, both living and deceased, who are mothers. Simply fill out and drop in the Collection Basket. Their names will be placed on the altar Mothers’ Day weekend to be remembered during the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. No donation is required. 

This Sunday is the Third Sunday of Easter. The Easter Season will end on 8 June, Pentecost Sunday!

This Sunday is the First Sunday of the Month. I will offer a special Birthday Blessing at all Masses for all celebrating their birthday in May. The 10:30AM Sunday Mass will be a Children's Mass.

Our May Crowning of the statue of Mary in front of the Parish Offices is this Sunday, 4 May, at 12 NOON. Please join us as we honor Mary, Virgin and Mother of our Lord, Jesus Christ.

This Sunday, 4 May, is the LAST Sunday for Faith Formation Classes for the summer. Many thanks to all our Faith Formation Staff, Volunteer Catechists and Aides, Parents and Teachers for an AMAZING year of Faith Formation at OLL! Enjoy your summer break everyone. See you again in the Fall!!

In my thank you last week I omitted thanking the 8:00AM Bakers of Fellowship who helped with both the Cheesecake & Champagne Celebration and the Children's Great Easter Egg Give-Away. My apologies to them and my thanks for all they do to support our parish with their wonderful culinary gifts!

Our Summer Mass Schedule begins on 11 May. This means there will be NO 5:00PM SUNDAY EVENING MASS from 11 May to 31 August. The 5:00PM Sunday Evening LifeTeen Mass resumes on 7 September.

The Welcome Committee, assisted by our Parish Neighbors Ministry, is hosting a Welcome Reception in honor of our Newly Registered Parishioners on Sunday, 4 May after the 10:30 Mass in St. Andrew Hall. This will take the place of Hospitality and is open to all parishioners. Please come to meet our newest parishioners and welcome them to our parish community!

We remember in prayer Pope Francis who was buried on Easter Saturday. Pope Francis was a model of Christian humility and compassion for the poor and marginalized. May he rest in peace. Let us now pray for the Cardinal Electors as they prepare to elect our next Pope. May the Holy Spirit guide them in their sacred duty.

Our MAY Via Fidelis activity for the Diocesan Year of Evangelization is SHARE INSPIRING STORIES. Share the stories of Joseph (Gn 39), Esther or Daniel with someone who may need to hear about inspiring Bible heroes. Follow the link to learn more!

Join the Men's Club for their Annual Bass Classic Fishing Tournament this year on 7 June . Contact Jim Aleshire at jimaleshire55@gmail.com if you want to fish, be a sponsor, volunteer, or just come for the luncheon at the noon weigh in. Pick up our FLYER in the narthex or click the link for details and to sign up. You are required to sign up to attend so we have a good head count. All proceeds benefit the OLL Men's Club Ministry's worthy causes, which include the high school seniors scholarship fund. We look forward to seeing everyone and having a great day of fishing and meeting our parish neighbors.

Catholic Appeal of South Carolina (CASC) 2025: 

(As of 29 April) 

2025 Goal: $57,941.

Total Raised to date: $102,118. 

Percent of Goal: 176%.

Pledged - not yet received: $19,837.

296 Families have made one time gifts and/or pledges. 

Participation Rate: TBD

Congratulations - we have reached our 2025 Goal for the CASC! We remain confident that we will also exceed our participation goal. Bishop Fabre has once again challenged all parishes in the diocese to exceed 25% participation. We will provide a participation rate in the near future once the diocese gives us additional information. You can learn more about the CASC and make a donation or pledge online by following this LINK. 

Bicentennial Campaign

The Diocesan Bicentennial Campaign is coming to an end this year. If you made a pledge, now is the time to check to see if your pledge has been fulfilled. Currently, after receiving confirmation that several pledges could no longer be fulfilled, there is only $30,569 in unpaid pledges to be redeemed. If you can't fulfill your pledge please let me know so that we can update our records. If you did not give to the Bicentennial Campaign but would like to do so we can still accept gifts or pledges -DONATE HERE! We thank all those who made one time gifts or pledges to the Bicentennial Campaign. 

Some brief reminders:

There is 8:00AM and 10:30AM Hospitality this Sunday hosted by the 8AM Bakers of Fellowship 

and by the Welcome Committee and Parish Neighbors respectively. 

The web site I mentioned in my homily on Easter Sunday is magiscenter.com.

It is that time of year again when I need to alert you to phishing scams. These scams will be very convincing and will use my name or a staff member's name as well as mimic our email addresses and even phone numbers. Malicious individuals are sending emails and texts that appear to come from priests or parish staff—requesting personal information, donations, gift cards, or other sensitive details under false pretenses.

Please be aware: You will NEVER receive an email or text from me or any of the parish staff requesting donations, gift cards, or similar items.

To protect yourself and others, I ask you to:

• Be cautious of any unusual or unexpected text or email requests.

• Do not click links or respond to messages requesting sensitive information unless you're absolutely sure of the sender.

• If you’re ever in doubt, please call the parish office directly to confirm whether the communication is genuine.

• Report suspicious emails to your email provider.

Always be on the alert to phishing attempts and protect yourself and your family.

Pray for peace in the world and for protection from storms and other natural disasters.

Peace and all good,

Fr. Dennis

PADRE'S PICK

A weekly series of videos to watch (or listen to) that I recommend for every parish household and family! What better way to celebrate the Easter Season than to engage the Word on Fire EASTER MINI-COURSE -- HE IS RISEN! This week we have the fourth of six videos in this mini-course:

PARISH FINANCIAL UPDATES

Last Sunday's collection was $14,630! An additional $975 was received towards our Easter Collection. We are hopeful that we will see additional Easter donations this week. We are entering the period of time when our weekly donations decline during the months of May, June, July and August as families go on vacation and school is out for the summer. We remain dependent on your gifts. Please remember to support our parish throughout the summer months. Thank you.

Many of our parishioners give yearly from investments that have Required Minimum Disbursements. There is a significant tax advantage when RMDs are given directly to a charity like the Church. Check with your financial advisor if you have RMDs and would like to reduce your tax burden. 

We remain in a good place financially at this time with a slight cushion to hopefully carry us through to the end of the fiscal year on 30 June. Thank you for your continued generosity to the parish. 

The weekly financial report is available HERE. We remain deeply grateful for your generosity. 

In the coming months I will share additional information about Planned Giving and how your estate planning can support the mission of Our Lady of the Lake far into the future! You can also visit Stewardship & Mission Advancement - South Carolina Catholic at the Diocese of Charleston's website to learn more.

Please remember that every gift to the church helps, no matter the amount. We emphasize equal sacrifice - NOT equal giving! We ask that all registered households give what they can to support the ministry of the Church. We are always THANKFUL for your generosity and support!

THANK YOU!!!

Do you give online using your credit card?  If so, our vendor now allows you the option to add the processing fee to your gift.  Please consider making this change and strengthen the power of your gift.

CHILDREN'S ENVELOPE ARTWORK

We encourage all our parish children to use their envelopes at the Sunday Morning Masses. Children can make a monetary donation or just write something on the envelope; a good deed, a prayer, artwork, etc. Father Dennis will hold a basket and invite the children to come forward at the appropriate time. If you have forgotten an envelope or need more, they are available in the Narthex. 

CAMPUS CONSTRUCTION UPDATES

We are working on an in house solution to the question of movable Altar Rails for our sanctuary. More information to come in the near future! To understand some of the benefits of installing movable Altar Rails at Our Lady of the Lake please read this ARTICLE.

Future plans for the fountain in front of the church are to extend the plaza in front of the church with pavers so as to include the area around the fountain. We will raise funds to complete this project by selling pavers to be inscribed with family names, in honor of, or in memorial. We are very close to finalizing pricing for the pavers.