Posted on August 23, 2024 View all Pastor's Letter
Dear Parishioners:
Last weekend was one of great joy and enthusiasm for everyone; thanks to God and your support, we
celebrated our patron saint’s day in honor of Our Lady, Queen of the Apostles. We had the honor of
having Bishop Evelio Menjivar, Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of Washington, among us; he
presided over the Eucharist and encouraged us in his homily to love and trust our Mother Mary more. The
Holy Mass was the main celebration, but along with the spiritual celebration, we also had the fourth
family festival, which, thanks to God and everyone’s work, was a resounding success; we have
rediscovered the talent and gifts we have in the parish. Thanks to all the volunteers for the great effort,
dedication, and, above all, the unity to organize this festival of faith and friendship.
As your parish pastor, I feel very proud and happy to be your shepherd because we have created a true
work team; all the living forces of the parish come together with one goal: to celebrate our Mother Mary
and work for the parish. We have shown that unity makes us strong: staff, Filipino community, Knights of
Columbus, young adults, women’s group, The Grillfathers (men’s group), Missionaries of Jesus, Prayer
Group, Legion of Mary, Encuentros Conyugales, Ministerio Emaus, Altar Servers, and all the parish and
volunteer ministries, and many members of the English and Spanish-speaking community, we rejoiced
and tired together so that everything was a success, to all I say THANK YOU FOR YOUR EFFORT
AND YOUR LOVE FOR THE PARISH. I want to highlight and thank the brothers of the Korean,
Peruvian, and Polish communities for accepting for the second consecutive year to prepare their delicious
dishes. To the brothers and sisters of Cursillos and also for the first time we tasted Colombian food, God
rewards you for your effort. The games for the children also had a particular highlight and many prizes
for them. I hope you enjoyed it to the fullest.
I still need the exact profit numbers for the festival because we are still processing everything. I hope to
share it with you next week, but it has been very good because the festival was a success thanks to your
vital participation. I am very grateful to everyone who participated in the raffle by selling tickets; your
collaboration is well-received and appreciated. Congratulations to the winners: Napoleon Versoza,
$1,000; Elena Elias Rodriguez, $1,000; Rosalie Mainey, $1,000; Rodolfo Escalante, $2,000; and the
grand prize winner was Joaquin Perez Fernandez, $4,000; Thank you very much for your participation.
Thank you very much for the effort. We did it together and will continue to do better events thanks to the
unity and love of our Queen of Apostles parish.
Finally, I officially welcome all the children of our school who started last Wednesday, the 21st. They
started their school year; it gave me joy to receive them and bless each one; seeing their happiness and
enthusiasm gives me hope because I know the church’s and society’s future reflects in them. The school is
a precious parish ministry, so we must work tirelessly to provide good spiritual and intellectual formation.
As a Catholic school, we are obliged to form our students with a vision of God and that in the future, they
will be torches that illuminate and attract more Christians to the church and holiness. We should continue
to pray for our parish school.
I have you in my prayers.
Fr. Alex
