Search
-
July 15, 2022This weekend, I will be away and Father Sean McGillicuddy, a Redemptorist father who serves in the Bronx, will be here for all the Masses. As I mentioned before, the staff and some volunteers will be at a national conference entitled: Divine Renovation. It comes from the title of the first book written by Father James Mallon. We have been using some of the principles that Father Mallon used to renew his parish in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Using Alpha as an evangelization tool and then having a path to participation in ministry and leadership, we are slowly achieving the vision for our parish as a renewed place of evangelization and healing in Salem.
What is it we have been doing? First and always the most important, we are faithful to the Church and her teaching. However, our methods of welcoming, engagement, and asking everyone to take a role in the life of the parish are different than other places. During the month of June, Steven and Charlie ran the Discovering Your Gifts program and 25 people attended. As a result of this program, these parishioners discovered the gifts that God has given them. We hope to encourage these parishioners to use their gifts for the betterment of the parish, and in turn, we hope they will experience joy and fulfillment in serving. No one is too old or too young to serve, and we are all called through baptism and the Holy Spirit to serve. One day, I hope to see a full, active, and conscious parish, growing in holiness and attracting disciples to Jesus Christ.
Through this, and with the programs we offer, we want to help everyone recognize their call to holiness through service and prayer in the Church. We have changed a few things to make ministries easier for everyone to participate. For example, by using the smaller baskets during the offertory, we can include children in the collection. One day, we hope parents and godparents will be able to break open the Word of God for our young people in the Wondrous Stories program. We would like a team of readers so no one person is “on” every week. We hope one day new people will become greeters, lecturers, and join other ministries, and that we will see a variety of ages and people serving. In addition to the path of participation, we also have been working at becoming a welcoming parish. We hope to build on our parking lot ministry, our welcoming practices, and ongoing community building.
The mission is always to evangelize and heal. That is our purpose. Along the way, we have been trying new methods to attract new and young people. I admit that this is not the Church in which I was ordained, and I recognize that I need to grow and change to attract a new generation. We might argue about methods, but we will always have the proclamation of the Gospel at the center of what we do. I am convinced that if we continue to ask the Holy Spirit to guide us and inspire us, we will be guided to success.
I ask everyone to continue to ask the Holy Spirit to watch over us and bless us.
Peace, Father Murray
Building news: This week we had a restorationist look at the painting of Mary that is on the wall in the sanctuary. There are signs that it is beginning to flake and there are spots where the paint is peeling. The estimate for the job is between $14,000-$18,000. We are researching the painter and their history too. The work will take one to two weeks and will require scaffolding in the sanctuary. We also have a parishioner who has volunteered to paint the windows on the garage. I am grateful to all who step forward to help with these and other projects.
