Dear Sisters and Brothers in Faith:
As many of you know because you were present at
the time, a recent funeral luncheon was interrupted
by the collapse of our friend, Linda Berry, wife of
our home town funeral director, Ralph Berry. Sad-
ly, Linda died a short while later at the hospital.
Her death has drawn attention to the fact that our
facilities — St. Vincent de Paul and St. Patrick
Churches, and the halls at both sites — are not
equipped with defibrillators. It is not for me to say
whether or not Linda would have survived if there
had been a defibrillator handy, but several people
have approached me asking about the possibility
of obtaining and installing such devices in our
churches and halls.
I have been told that a good new defibrillator would
cost in the neighborhood of $1,500. On top of that
would be the need to have them installed in each
of our buildings. We are fortunate to have in our
parish several individuals who already are trained
to operate defibrillators, and more could be trained
and ready if (God forbid) another such emergency
should arise.
Because of these considerations I am asking at
this weekend’s Masses for the people of the parish
to consider making a one-time special contribution
to a fund specifically earmarked for the purchase
of four defibrillators for our facilities. I am sure you
can all understand the need to have this special
life-saving equipment on hand. It would be my
hope and prayer they would never be needed, but I
believe it is best to be prepared in case of emer-
gencies such as we experienced four weeks ago.
I hope you have a Christ-filled week!
St. Vincent de Paul, pray for us!
May the Holy Spirit always be with you.
Deacon Mike