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FIRST ANNUAL BENEFIT!

We are excited to invite you to join us for our First Beth Miriam Annual Benefit — A Tricky Tray Event. The evening of fellowship, dinner, benefit activity and fun will be held on:

Thursday November 3, 2011
6:30PM
Harrison-East Newark Elks
408 Harrison Avenue
Harrison, NJ 07029
$40 includes:
Admission, Buffet Dinner,
Sheet of Tricky Tray Coupons

RSVP by Friday, October 21, 2011
Contact Renée St. Clair @ 347.989.7949
or Pay Online by
clicking the one-time donation button
and entering $40.00 in PayPal.

Also, the Tricky Tray Committee is thrilled to offer you an opportunity to participate in its 2011 Beth Miriam "House of Mary" Benefit Journal.

Please contact Renée St. Clair at 347.989.7949 or Eileen Blades at 973.986.1314 for more information.

BE BLESSED AS YOU ARE A BLESSING!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

It is hard to believe that a year has passed. As we begin 2011, I want to give you an update on the wonderful happenings at Beth Miriam and the progress that we are making through your prayers and donations. Once again we were able to provide turkeys to 20 families for Thanksgiving courtesy of the ILA (Local 1235). So as you enjoyed your holiday dinner, know that you were a part of helping others enjoy their Thanksgiving dinner as well.

I would also like to acknowledge Bill Benedict and the Knights of Malta for their ongoing support. Just last month, we were able to complete a project at Beth Miriam that has been near and dear to my heart since we first acquired the house — we were finally able to put a door to the back yard opening from the kitchen on the first floor. This would provide real access to the yard and make it much more usable for the women to be able to go out to garden or to barbecue or just to sit and relax. It was difficult to find a contractor who was skilled in this area. That is when Joe Salomone stepped up to the plate and hit the ball out of the park. We can't wait for spring!

Ralph Cadalzo also needs special recognition in helping me get the door bolted to the hinges. We were able to get one bolt to hold by only a thread or two while Ralph painstakingly held up the 150-pound door from the outside standing eight feet off of the ground on a precariously placed ladder. If it wasn't for Ralph's endurance, he would have been turned into a pancake.

Glory be to God! Saved by a thread!

Mike Tadros has also been a big help in so many ways in helping to maintain the physical plant.

On another note I would like to share with you, my friends, a testimony of one of the women who frequents Beth Miriam. I think you will be pleased:

“As a welfare recipient I have to do 35 hours per week in an approved activity. As I was accepted into the Strong Foundation Program which is 20 hours per week, I needed another activity for 15 hours to satisfy my welfare requirement.

I went to welfare to sign up for a 15 hours per week CWEP; running on my own limited thoughts, I was prepared to ask for a clerical position at the welfare building because I did not want to be placed at a daycare. God, whose plan and knowledge are limitless, had something better in mind for me. I was placed in the little known Beth Miriam, which is a home for homeless women. Father John wants to provide a residence for these women where they can live, have free use of the house and everything in it for as long as it takes to get their life together. The house is run by a lovely woman named Eileen, who also volunteers. I feel really blessed to be part of such a family. In the mornings Father John makes himself available for whoever wants a short Bible study or maybe just wants to talk, and I myself have been able to benefit from that immensely.

This has been such a positive experience for me because this is beyond a CWEP. I am willing to go beyond what is expected of me because this is a program I would have volunteered to do on my own time. I find it rewarding to do what Father and Eileen are doing for these women!”

These are just a few of the many things that have been happening at Beth Miriam lately. The bottom line is that Beth Miriam is happening. A small seed planted solely by faith, with no material resources whatsoever, is now blossoming into a community—the home of the Immaculate Heart of Mary.

You know you believe!

Fr. John Corbett

• Pray for our ministry and those needing our support
• Let your friends know about Beth Miriam and ask them to visit our website
• If you are able, please make
  a tax-deductible donation
  (one-time or ongoing monthly)
  via secure online transaction or you can send a check to the address above.

Donations of $25 or more
will receive a free copy
of Fr. John's book.