The Annual St. Isidore Parish Family Picnic was held under threatening skies, but in the end, the sun prevailed on Sunday June 22. A special Mass with heavenly music kicked-off the event under a big tent on the beautiful Venta Preparatory School campus located at 2013 Old Carp Road, Kanata.
Good food, great parish-family spirit and a soccer challenge for the kids organized by the Knights of Columbus were all part of the day's fun. 'It's a great time to relax and socialize as a parish family", said Father Ross Finlan, parish priest.
Local artist Ben Babelowsky was on hand to unveil an original acrylic painting valued at $2,500., which he has donated to St. Isidore parish as a raffle item in support of its building fund. The painting depicts a traditional Lanark County sugar shack - typical of Ben's interest in capturing the flavour of local scenery in and around the Ottawa Valley. Ben worked at The Ottawa Citizen, for 30 years in advertising, marketing and public relations. During this time, his art career blossomed with exposure through the newspaper, galleries and major exhibitions. With the help of The Ottawa Citizen, he has raised more than two million dollars for a vast number of charities through the sales of his books, calendars, art and reproductions. Since retiring from The Citizen in 1993, Ben Babelowsky continues to paint the spectacular rural and urban scenery of Eastern Canada, the USA and the Maritimes and he continues to donate his art to many charities.
Tickets for the Babelowsky painting went on sale at the picnic priced at $10. each or 3 for $20. The draw will be made on Dec. 19th. Tickets are also available by calling the parish office at 613-592-1961.
An expansion committee has been working to finalize plans to build a new church to replace the 120 year old church at 1135 March Road, Kanata - which the parish community has out-grown.
The decision to build 'new' was made in 2007 by way of a parishioner vote when it was determined that the cost of expanding the old St. Isidore church was unreasonable. Plans for a new church designed to utilize the preserved stained glass windows, the steeple, bell and some stone have been well received by parishioners who are now working together to raise the money.
A capital campaign to raise $3.5 million for the building project was launched in January 2008. All families in the parish have been asked to make a three to five year pledge to support the new church and so far fundraising has been going extremely well.
Click on the thumbnails for a larger view of the photos.
Ben Babelowsky (right) presents an original painting to Father Ross Finlan in support of the St. Isidore Building Fund
Close up of the painting
For more information, contact:
Expansion Task Force Committee Chair - Deacon Des Adam: 613-592-4821
or the St. Isidore parish office: 613-592-1961