Kathryn Webb, who grew up in our parish and has served as a Peace Corp Volunteer for the past 18 months, is launching her first Peace Corp Partnership project called “Young Entrepreneurs in Moldova."

This new four-month program will help local students build real-world entrepreneurship skills through weekly workshops, one-on-one guidance, and a new business incubator with new technology open to communal use at the local youth center. By the end of the program, students will present their business models to local entrepreneurs, showcase their ads, and leave with greater confidence to start businesses in their own community—supporting local economic growth and reducing the need to leave home for work opportunities. While the project is partially support by grant funds, some private donations are needed to help the project reach it goals.

To learn more about the project or support it, please use the link below.

Dear Friends in Christ,

Peace to you from the Rectory -- and since this is my first bulletin letter to you for 2026 -- Happy New Year! I start the New Year writing on a most important subject: Marriage. Next month, February 8-14, is World Marriage Week, and the 2026 theme is "Man and Woman He Created Them: Together with Purpose." Every February at St. Philip we celebrate marriage with a Couple's Retreat in Spanish. This year's retreat is on Saturday, February 14, from 8:30 am to 5 pm and features Joel De Loera, the Director of the Hispanic Apostolate of the Diocese of Arlington, and his wife, Nora. Joel and Nora are both faithful witnesses to marriage and family in their own lives, so I pray that many Spanish-speaking couples will be able to join them at this Couples' Retreat next month at the end of World Marriage Week. Sign up for this retreat is now underway after the Hispanic Masses, or by calling the Rectory Office.

In addition to the Couple's Retreat in Spanish, we will also be offering an event for all couples of the parish that was quite successful 10 years ago and is being brought back by the Knights of Columbus: A Date Night for Married Couples on Saturday, February 7, at 6:30 PM in Hayden Hall. This Date Night will be a chance for married couples to have a nice evening out with other couples and for the whole parish to celebrate the blessing of the Sacrament of Matrimony. There is a nominal fee of $20 per couple, and reservations can be made via a Parish Giving link on the parish website or by calling the Rectory Office. Please reserve a spot soon, because seating will be limited.

It is always good to be promoting marriage, but I am especially happy to be doing so at this time, because right now, as I write this bulletin letter, I am in Michigan visiting my parents, who have been married over 65 years. Their living situation is like that of others in our neighborhood at Brightview Senior Living Center. During this visit, it has been touching and impressive to see the concern they have for each other in their old age. What I see so distinctly in them now – and what I have seen in so many other couples throughout my priesthood – is a beautiful witness to the wedding vows, where man and woman offer and receive each other as “husband and wife…in sickness and in health…all the days of their lives.”

The key to successful marriage is Christ, which is why Jesus made Marriage a Sacrament, and which is why marriage is celebrated in the context of the Church. I want to close on that note with some words about an amazing book on marriage and the family that I read over the summer. It made such an impact on me that I asked our parish staff, our pastoral council, and the Knights of Columbus to read it. The book is Endgame: The Church's Strategic Move to Save Faith and Family in America by John Van Epp and J.P. De Gance. Its main thesis highlights the foundational role of marriage and family to Church and society. From this most important reality, the book concludes by noting the need for the Church and society to dedicate more resources to supporting marriages, families, and healthy relationships. All of these – marriage, family, and healthy relationships – are under attack these days in so many ways, and there is need to act before it is too late, hence book’s name “Endgame.” While I look forward to saying more on ways St. Philip Parish can support marriage, family, and healthy relationships in the future, one good first step will be for the parish to observe World Marriage Week next month like never before, especially by participating in our Date Night on February 7 and our Hispanic Couples Retreat on February 14. St. Philip the Apostle – pray for us!

Yours in Christ,

Fr. Donahue