From The Pastor's Desk

12/20/2009

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Posted at 7:59 am December 30th, '09
by Fr. Mike Schaab



FROM THE PASTOR
    Happily the minor blizzard we experienced last week forced some ducks down from the north into our area.  So I’ve been sneaking away from time to time to get in some long overdue hunting.  So far it hasn’t been bad.  I hunt in the central zone of Illinois which means our season comes to an end on December 28. 
    As we come to the end of the year some people are thinking about taxes.  Here are two thoughts to keep in mind.
  • GIFT OF SECURITIES  Gifts of appreciated assets such as stock make a wonderful gift to the parish.  You pay no capital gains tax when you transfer stock, and you receive an income tax deduction for the full market value of the stock.
  • GIFT FROM AN IRA  The tax  advantage for gifts from your IRA has been approved by the IRS again for this year.  There is no tax on the money that you withdraw from your account, and you receive an income tax reduction for the full value of your gift. 
I sincerely thank everyone for their generosity at this time of year.  My prayer is that all of us can keep the Christmas spirit alive in our hearts and homes by continuing our sensitivity and responsiveness to the needs of all those around us.  It’s all too easy to fall back into our own little world and conveniently forget about the needs of our brothers and sisters.  However, the message of Christmas impels us to be open and generous.
My thanks, too, to those who helped to make our celebrations such blessings.  To Frs. Peter and Mark, our deacons, to Karen Manning and the musicians, cantors and choirs, to the ushers, lectors and servers and to all those who were involved with our Liturgy Committee in decorating the church, thanks for your wonderful service to us all.
Mike Schaab, Pastor

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