Gifts need to be unwrapped and placed in gift bags. Please make sure the Angels are securely attached to the gift bags. The Angels are the only way we have of identifying the recipients of the gifts. Gifts will be sorted Sunday, Dec. 5th and will be distributed on Tuesday, Dec. 7th.

Starting next weekend, December 4/5 mail bins will be placed at the entrance of the church to begin collecting your Christmas Cards for those in our community in Long Term Care, Nursing, and Rehabilitation Homes. Please as many Christmas Cards as you like... Please include the “thoughts and prayers from the Parishioners of St. Benedict Parish” in your Christmas greeting/signature. The outside of the envelope can be left blank or you may write, “Merry Christmas”. Please place your Christmas cards in the mail bins no later than Wednesday, December 15th. The Card will be distributed on Friday, December 17th and Saturday, December 18th by the Deacons.

A collection for the Retirement Fund for Religious Appeal will be held December 11/12. Elderly religious need your help. More than 32,000 senior Catholic sisters, brothers, and religious order priests live in the United States. Through prayer, love, and sacrifice, they established Catholic schools, hospitals, and more. Yet years of serving for little or no pay have left a shortage in retirement funding. Your gift helps their religious communities furnish necessities such as medications and nursing care. It also helps ensure younger members can continue the good works of their elders. Please be generous.

The 2022 workbooks are now available in the usher’s room for all Lectors.

Our Annual Angel Tree will be set up in the church on Saturday, November 20th. Please take one or more Angels and complete the attached white tag with your name and phone number. please turn in the white tag before leaving church. Team members will be available to assist you and collect your white tag(s). please Purchase one or more gifts from the wish list on the Angel and return to church by Sunday, December 5th. The gift(s) should be unwrapped and placed in a gift bag with your Angel securely attached. We look forward to your generous support of this Christmas tradition.

A second collection will be held on the weekend of November 20/21 for the Catholic Campaign for Human Development. Over 43 million people in the United States live in poverty. This collection supports programs to empower people to identify and address the obstacles they face as they work to bring permanent and positive change to their communities. Learn more about the Catholic Campaign for Human Development at www.usccb.org/cchd/collection.

Bon Appetite! Come get a taste of what St. Benedict Men’s Club can do. Smoked turkey and sausage gumbo will be sold after all Masses the weekend of Nov. 20/21 for just $12 a quart with a little lagniappe of rice. Ca c’est bon! (That’s Good!).

The Lunch Ministry will be collecting canned vegetables, instant mashed potatoes, easy mac and cheese, and stuffing for them to put in the Annual Holiday Baskets for both Thanksgiving and Christmas. Please drop your non-perishables off before November 23rd at the Catechetical Center. Thank You!

Natural Family Planning has proven itself to be safe, effective, and a moral way for couples to plan their families. It is a method which respects the meaning of human sexuality as God created it and thus marital love is enhanced and strengthened. This class series the Office of Marriage and Family Life is offering in the SymptoProTM Method of Natural Family Planning. This series will be virtual by using Zoom. The dates of the class series are Nov. 12, Nov. 26, Dec. 10, 2021, and Jan.7, 2022. The Zoom class hours are 6:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m. You do need to attend all sessions. The cost is $105.00 and includes all classes and materials. Preregistration is required. Register online: https://nolacatholicfla.regfox.com/ sympto-thermal-nfp-course.

THANK YOU to everyone who made our annual Family Day Picnic a tremendous success!