Dear Brothers and Sisters, One of the things I’m always inspired by in the Gospels is how Jesus made a point of reaching out beyond the boundaries of society’s expectations. For him, everyone has an important role to play in his Kingdom. And whenever his followers would attempt to limit who was welcome and who wasn’t, Jesus would always open the door back up. For example, in today’s Gospel, the disciples see someone other than them doing mighty deeds in Jesus’ name and get frustrated—but Jesus simply responds, “Do not prevent him, for whoever is not against us is for us.” Everyone has an important place in the Kingdom—and everyone’s help is needed in the work of the Church here on earth, as well. This week, I’d like to push an important way to support our parish school that everyone can be a part of. Here in the state of Alabama, we have a program that allows anyone who pays state taxes to designate some of the tax money to fund scholarships for kids to attend accredited private schools (such as Catholic schools) through charitable organizations known as “Scholarship Granting Organizations.” Basically, if you contribute to one of them, you can then count it as part of your state taxes for the year. It’s a classic two for one special: you help out a child, and you fulfill your civic responsibility of paying taxes. As part of our effort to open a parish school at St. Thomas, we have partnered with one of those organizations, called “Alabama Scholarships for Kids,” and we are working on getting as many parishioners as possible to participate to bring those funds into our school. We’re working with them to put together both resources and information sessions to help everyone participate. Specifically, I would like to invite everyone to an event next Sunday, the 6th of October, at 9:30am, in the main church, where we will have a “coach” walk us through how it works, answer any questions, and make sure you have his contact info so you can reach out with any questions as tax time approaches. If you’re not able to make it, we’ll keep the resources available in the gathering space. I know this kind of tax stuff can seem confusing and mysterious, but taking the time to do this will make a huge difference here at St Thomas. It’s one way to help live up to Jesus’ prayer that all of us do mighty deeds in his name. As a community, through the intercession of Blessed Mary, Ever-Virgin, and our patron St Thomas, let’s take care of the little ones entrusted to us God bless,