Sunday, June 5th, 2022

Happy Birthday (today is the birthday of the Church) and happy Pentecost! As we come to the end of another Easter Season, it is exciting to think about all the ways the Holy Spirit is working amongst us. We have all the gifts we need to be a growing and thriving parish. I hope that everyone, in the light of Pentecost and the recognition that we all are given the gift of the Holy Spirit, you will believe and understand that the success of the parish is everyone’s vocation. We are all called to use the talents and gifts given to us by God to evangelize and proclaim the gospel. 

In the next few weeks, everyone will be invited to take a short survey to help us determine what our gifts are and how they can be used to help the parish accomplish our mission of evangelization and healing in Salem. We have many people already participating in different ministries, but the goal is to have every person offer their time, talent, and treasure. Our goal is to invite, train, and schedule enough people in every ministry so that everyone serves no more than once a month. This allows us to remember that everyone has a gift to offer and can offer it. From the parking lot greeters to those who clean the church after every Mass, we need everyone’s gift and some of your time. As an example of growth, some our confirmation and first communion students are going to be altar servers. This is a good example of adults and young people working together to serve at Mass. Behind the scenes, several people have been slowly taking on the tasks of administration and training others in the hidden, but important tasks of organization.  I expect that we will shortly have a website page that will allow us to sign up for service and include invitations to reflect on what we are doing regardless of where we serve, to help us understand how we can be disciples of Jesus Christ. We will have more information on this as the month unfolds. 

Other news: We are hosting a job fair this Sunday from 1-2 PM in the lower church at IC. Many city departments that are looking for help will be represented as well as local businesses looking for full, part time, and summer help. 

We have reached our first goal for the Catholic Appeal. Soon, all those who have not participated yet this year, but gave in years past, will be contacted by the Archdiocese. Congratulations again to Maeve Harrington and Patrick Moriarty on their leadership in this success. 

We are looking for people who would be willing to sit in the church on Saturday and Sunday afternoons for a few hours during the summer months. As more tourists come, we hope to invite them in, offer a place for prayer, and have candles available to light for their intentions. 

We have received some new candle holders, but I am reluctant to have them lit unattended. 

I also hope that people could explain a little of the history to those who are visiting. Please call or write if you are interested. 

Thank you to all who supported the Pan y Vino event last week. It was a great event and supports the missionary work of the parish, which is outreach to special needs children in the Dominican Republic. Thanks to Mari Mullane and her team for a successful event. 

Peace. 

Father Murray 

Building News. After a long wait, I can announce that we soon will be dedicating the restored bell and all the electronics that are now part of the system. The neighbors will be happy to know that we no longer rely on the pastor to adjust the bell at the yearly time changes as the bells and chimes will work according to the Greenwich Mean Time. The bell support beams have been cleaned and there are new bricks supporting the I-beams. This week, we also had a visit from the electrician to fix a short that was causing a problem with the garage and to install more energy saving lights above the sanctuary. The fire alarm company also was here for a problem in the lower church.