FM's Message | Sunday, October 1st, 2023

This week, we begin the mass change on Sunday, and we hope for everyone’s sake it is a good experience. Some changes are more difficult than others, but I think this is one that we will all be able to see works best for the whole community.
Next week I will be in Jerusalem and hope to report from there. I am grateful to Father Richard who is here to celebrate the masses on the weekends and the masses during the week. The exception is that Father Tom Keyes will celebrate the mass on Wednesday, October 11 and Father Sepe will take the healing Mass. In addition, although I am returning on Friday, there will be a guest priest for the weekend of the 15th. Father Robert Nee is a retired priest of the archdiocese who now preaches on behalf of Cross Catholic and will be here to ask our help by preaching about his experiences working with the poor and then asking us to help by adopting a family or contributing from your treasure. I had a friend who did this and was matched to a family in Guatemala. When I was there for studies, I had the privilege to meet them and to see how the funds donated helped the family. It was not very much, but the effect was great. The family ate better and as a result were able to be more prosperous. Also, to be able to afford gas for their lights gave the children the ability to study and prepare themselves for whatever they were studying. In the past, I have also donated to buy farm animals like a flock of chicks, a goat, or a cow. Any one of these allows a family to begin to lift themselves out of poverty and to improve their condition. Along with being the month of the Rosary, this is also the month that remember missionaries around the world. Earlier this summer, we hosted a priest from the St. James Society of the Archdiocese. It is part of our mission to support those who are evangelizing in other parts of the world. When we do this, we participate in the great mandate at the end of the Gospel of Matthew to go out to all the nations, make disciples, baptize, and teach about Jesus. As someone who has traveled to South America, Central America, Africa, and the Dominican Republic, I understand how important the Gospel and its proclamation is for the world. It is really quite amazing what some of the missionaries have accomplished.
This month, we will have the weekends that we normally have at this time of year. I am pleased that we have a good parking plan and volunteers and that especially we have people to welcome visitors through our open doors program running on the weekends. This is another small attempt to evangelize and remember that not everyone who comes through the doors is a tourist visitor. In several surprising moments, we have had people from our own city who have never been in the church. I am pleased that we were able to make contact with them and in the future that we may be able to invite them to our Alpha program as a way to introduce them to the church and community. The teams welcoming people are trained to first be helpful and then offer historical insights to the church. The outreach aims to steer people to pray, and to know that we are here to pray for them.
On the week of my return (October 22), I hope to be able to ask for your help in this coming year through our Grateful Discipleship Program. I will be asking everyone to consider how they can serve the parish and ask each person to consider how sacrificially to give of their time, talent, and treasure.
 
 
 
Building news: This week we had the tree taken down that is next to the church. We hope to have the root ground out and then we will have another tree transplanted and start to grow.
This is an evergreen tree that has been growing alongside the ramp entrance to the church. I hope that in a few year’s time, this tree also will be part of the beautiful landscape that is the yard. We get lot of nice compliments about our little oasis in the city. I am grateful to those who come and garden and do other tasks that allow the beauty of the area to be displayed.
We also have six large metal drum barbecue barrels with charcoal and lighters if anyone would like to come and take them.