“Let everything you do be done in love.”
- 1 Corinthians 16:14

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!”
– 2 Corinthians 5:17

“Do not abandon yourselves to despair. We are the Easter people and hallelujah is our song.”
– Pope John Paul II

“Hope is praying for rain, but faith is bringing an umbrella.”
- Unknown

God calls each one of us to serve in his name through our acts of love and we express that love by a willingness to give to his Church and to share with others. We are good and faithful stewards who truly believe that what we do for him brings us many blessings.

With God’s grace towards us, we believe that growing in generosity is an important part of becoming more like Jesus. Generosity is one of our top values as a Church community. We believe it tangibly expresses the heart of God to others and is an essential practice for followers of Jesus. And I believe that is why you all try your possible best to support what God is doing in and through St. Vincent Church.

The Coronavirus pandemic has really hit us hard. Many people have died; many more are still dying; very many people are very sick; many have lost their jobs and all these are very worrying. Families are really hurting because of these critical times and events.

We can all testify that it is the reason why our numbers are like these – less than one-third of what we used to have before the pandemic. We cannot come together as we used to do before the pandemic. We cannot shake hands and give hugs as we used to do. We cannot sit closely together in this beautiful house of prayer (except close family members) – all these are happening because of the pandemic.

All these are really affecting the Church. Our reduced numbers are also affecting the Church and many important things. We are doing our best to provide what we can as a Church family to support ourselves. From the beginning of the pandemic up till now we have been able to try and help with the live streaming of our Sunday Masses and some funerals. Other important Church programs are being worked on and will be added to our online activities to make sure that we all stay engaged as a family.

Princecilla and our Outreach office are doing extremely well in providing wonderful support to many people in need and I am sure we are all aware of these activities since we make announcements about them almost every weekend.

Mrs. Dewey and the religious education teachers are doing very well in their Zoom conferences; Mrs. T. Young and her CYO group are also doing fantastic.

Aaron, Carl Hobson, Trevor, Norma Jackson, Charlie Mtshali, Deacon Harry, and all those who help at the back, making sure we have our services live-streamed, and our CDC protocols observed - I want to let you know that I really appreciate you and your services and St. Vincent Church is very grateful to you. I am very grateful to you Deacon Harry Guess, for your wonderful support and services. To our great choir – I say a big thank you to you for the great work you do in this critical period. To our readers – I say thank you for reading out God’s word to us any time we meet to worship. To my office manager, Heather Wilson – I say God bless you for your services. To Mrs. Pulley, Grace Mason, Deacon Harry, and all of you helping with the altar society – God bless you all for all you do. To Aaron and the parish council, Pauline, and the Finance council – you are doing your very best to keep us going and I am grateful to you. We say a big thank you to Deacon Bill Hill and Mrs. Pulley for having time to go see our sick and shut inn – God bless you too. To our money counters – thanks very much for your kind services. To all the heads of our various ministries, to the knights and ladies of St. Peter Claver – thanks for all you do to support St. Vincent.

And to everyone one of you, I say AYEKOO – which means, well done. Your attendance and membership at St. Vincent Church are appreciated and I am very grateful to you all.

I am glad as your pastor that we are all trying our very best to move forward in these critical moments.

Our numbers at Masses have gone down; so, collections are really down. Some of you who cannot come to Church in person, try to mail in your collections and some do the online giving. These and many other wonderful things that you do to support St. Vincent Church are very much appreciated. And that is what keeps the Church going.
Every Monday morning, when I go to the Church office, I look at how much we make at the previous day's Mass and I can testify that our finances are really going down now. Many of you are doing your best to help the St. Vincent Church but we really need something more so that the worse does not take hold of St. Vincent. Our many parish bills need to be taken care of and the many Church programs need to be kept running. But when we look at our financial situation right now, we really need your big support.

This week, we celebrate Thanksgiving Day, and next month, we will also celebrate Christmas. I am here today to appeal to you, my dearest St. Vincent family members. I love you all so much and I always appreciate the many great efforts you make to support your Church. Today, I am pleading with you to go the extra mile. I know you bring in or mail in your collections. But I am still pleading with you to look into your wonderful and generous hearts and try your very best to give a special Thanksgiving and Christmas gift to St. Vincent, to help your beloved Church at this crucial time.

So, starting from the weekend of December 6, the second Sunday of Advent, we will put the special basket at the back of the Church (in between our two regular collection baskets) and I will urge you all to make this special EXTRA-MILE OFFERING to St. Vincent. I will urge you to write at the Memo of the check, EXTRA-MILE OFFERING. To those of you who mail in your offerings and those who do the online giving, I will urge you all to do the same.

This is because (I, your pastor) want to see how much we will be able to make by the end of this EXTRA-MILE appeal. I call it an EXTRA-MILE OFFERING because you do your best to help almost every week but God is asking you through your pastor to give more at these critical and uncertain times.

If you can make a thousand dollar offering or more, I know God will bless you. If you can make five hundred dollars or more, I know God will bless you. If you can make $400, $300, $200, $100, $50, $30, $20, $10, $5, $2, $1 dollar offering or more God will surely bless you for the extra-mile offering.

Again, we know these are uncertain times, and any support you can provide is greatly appreciated. Writing in an amount that is more comfortable for you at this time is fine but if you could do your best and give more because of our crucial and critical financial stance at this time, it will be a blessing for St. Vincent Church, and a blessing to your family.

So, we will have our normal Sunday collections, and the EXTRA-MILE OFFERING will be our 2^nd collection at the weekends of December 6, 13, 20, on Christmas Eve and on Holy Family Sunday (December 27).
You may probably receive a call or an email from me because of this critical appeal. Please do not get upset with me because of such a request. Remember that as your pastor, I would normally not make such a request from you. But I am struggling to do this because of our critical situation. And I know with your support, St. Vincent will be able to stand on its feet.

Be assured that you are all in my daily prayers, and I also pray for you at every Mass that I offer.

May God bless you all; may He bless the works of your hands; may he open great doors for our dearest ones who have lost their jobs and are looking for new ones; may he protect us as we all struggle through this pandemic; may he grant eternal rest to those who have died because of the pandemic; may he be with you all who cannot join us because of the pandemic and may he who has begun his good works in us bring them into fulfillment.

Thanks very much for your wonderful love, care, kindness, and support for St. Vincent Church.

Have a wonderful and blessed Thanksgiving!

Remember that God loves you! Remember again that St. Vincent Church loves you.

And please remember that I love you too!

Fr. Francis Gerald APPREH
Pastor

It is wonderful to see so many of you safely returning to celebrate mass with us! We are often at or close to capacity per safety guidelines. To continue to maintain a safe environment,  as attendance grows, starting in October, mass will be offered on Saturday. As there is no current Sunday obligation, this will allow for more to celebrate mass safely. More details to come...

From the desk of Fr. Francis Appreh.

 
Hello, my dear St. Vincent Church Family!
 
My greatest prayer for you is that you are safe, you are well, and you realize that you are loved. You are loved by God and by your church family! Each day continues to bring challenges. Our elders called these challenges trials and tribulations. Is it not wonderful that we realize that God is for us? We believe this. We know this. And if God is for us…who OR what can be against us? Our elders knew this well and so together and with God, they made it through. We will make it through as well.  In fact, we will thrive…together.  Supporting each other and the church.

This Sunday, join us as we stream 10 o’clock mass live on our website, www.stvincentchurchfamily.com. 
 
Please, it is important that we remember to continue to support our church.  If you are not yet returning to gather for mass, you can still support the church by making one time or automatic and recurring offerings on our website or simply sending in your offerings directly to:
 
St. Vincent de Paul Church
1700 Heiman Street
Nashville, TN 37208
 
With caution and care, we have returned to gathering for mass. Mass is celebrated Tuesday, Thursday, and Sunday at 10 a.m. If you are well, please come. Please continue to pray, to be diligent and careful, and to give financially what you can to support our dear St. Vincent.
 
Yours in Christ,
 
Fr. Francis Appreh
Pastor
St. Vincent de Paul Church

Dear St. Vincent Parishioners,
 
Bishop J. Mark Spalding held a ZOOM meeting (online video meeting) with the priests of the diocese to discuss real plans for re-opening our Churches for public Holy Masses. Thursday, I will be sending you a letter, through the Office Manager, from the Bishop announcing the date for us to resume public Masses.
 
Re-opening will occur this month … and soon!
 
We may have to begin with daily Masses first, so that we can practice using diocesan and state guidelines; adapting the guidelines as necessary as possible for our facility, and plan and, if possible, rehearse how a Sunday Masses will be conducted.
 
Opening for Sunday Masses is going to be complicated initially. For those who will choose to attend, you will need to bring your patience as we learn to follow the guidelines as efficiently as possible.
 
We will need some of you to graciously and generously volunteer to act as ushers helping people to be seated in accordance with social-distancing guidelines. The ushers will also have to help with the Communion Procession and help with exiting the building in order to keep social-distancing expectations of staying 6 feet apart. We will have work hard to rehearse with the volunteers at least once before we have Sunday Masses in order to accomplish this.
 
Currently, our plan will be to return to our usual Mass schedule for weekdays and Sunday and see how things will go.
 
Things may be clumsy at first when we re-open, but we will learn together and we will make attending Mass possible.
 
I miss you all very much, and I will surely see you all very soon. Stay safe and healthy. Remember that God loves you and so do I. His grace and mercy will make us all go through these troubling moments and come out stronger than before.
 
Fr. Francis Gerald Appreh
Pastor 
 

Dear Church Family,

As your Pastor, I am not only concerned with your spiritual health but with your physical health and safety as well. With regard to the spreading coronavirus, the Metro Public Health Department, Tennessee Department of Health, and the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) have provided direction on best practices to keep safe. Please remember, the best ways to prevent the spread of respiratory viruses like coronavirus are to do the following, consistently and dutifully:

• Wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds. If soap and water are not available, use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer.
• Avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth, especially with unwashed hands.
• Avoid, as much as possible, close contact unless absolutely necessary.
• Be courteous and concerned with the health of others. This means that you should stay home when you are sick.
• Cover your cough or sneeze with a tissue, then immediately throw the tissue in the trash. If tissue is not available, cough or sneeze into your sleeve or elbow.
• Clean and disinfect frequently touched objects and surfaces.

• Do not stress or panic. God is with you. But be thoughtful, cautious and careful.
• If you are sick, stay home. If you believe your symptoms may be coronavirus, call your doctor first. Your doctor can discuss your symptoms and help assess whether you should be tested for coronavirus.
• If you are tested and diagnosed with coronavirus, you will likely need to stay quarantined and away from others for the length of time recommended by your doctor.
• If someone in your immediate household like a spouse, child, parent, roommate, or significant other is tested and diagnosed with coronavirus, you will need to stay quarantined and away from others for the length of time recommended by the appropriate physician.

As a reminder, the Tennessee Department of Health now offers a Tennessee Coronavirus Public Information Line at 877-857-2945.  The information line is available daily from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Central Time.  For more information about CORONAVIRUS visit the Metro Public Health Department’s website, https://www.nashville.gov/Health-Department/Coronavirus.aspx, the Tennessee Department of Health at www.tn.gov/health/cedep/ncov.html.  CDC has updated information and guidance available online at www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/index.html.

Remain prayerful, my dear family. Remain faithful. Remain dutiful. As I said in mass on Sunday, “If God is with us, who can be against us?” We will get through this. We will do so by being faithful and by being smart. Also, remember, it is the Lenten Season. Continue to take time for repentance, almsgiving and self-denial. It is a time of preparation and thoughtful reflection. During this time, let unhealthy habits go. Let fear go. Let the hate go. Let arrogance go. Let go of unnecessary spending and materialism. Forgive others for past trespasses. Prepare yourselves and try to truly realize the sacrifice that has been made for you. Do not allow the challenges of today to make you stray from the path. We made it through the storm. With God, we will make it through this as well.

 I love you, my dear St. Vincent Church Family and I pray for your health, both spiritual and physical.  

Yours in Christ,
Fr. Francis Appreh
Pastor
St. Vincent de Paul Church