Along the Way....
God's graces show up in the most unexpected places. In last week's bulletin, I wrote about the changing times in the church, particularly for priests. If we are not careful it would be easy to become saddened by the situation and have a sense of gloom and doom. As I wrote last week, "where one door closes, another opens" and I believe that at times, that is how God works. Yes, there has been a decline in the number of men seeking the priesthood and we have to pray for more vocations. I think that people, not just priests have to encourage vocations within their own families. Ask someone you really think has the right stuff to just consider the priesthood or religious life, no pressure, just ask them to consider it, and then let God do the rest.
The door that has opened over the last 20 years has been to the role that parishioners have played in the lives of their parishes. 50 years ago, there were few if any parishes that had Parish Councils, Finance Committees, Eucharistic Ministers, Pastoral Visitors, School Boards, Worship Committees, Bereavement Groups, Outreach, Faith Formation, Liturgy of the Word for Children, Scripture Study, Welcoming Committee, etc. All of these developments have brought vitality and life into the church, not only because of the organizations alone, but more so because of the people who are behind them. They are bringing their God given gifts and talents into the life of the church, and the church is better because of it. I do not think that things will end here. There is going to be more growth and development. Already, new ministries are emerging in the church. There are pastoral administrators, parish administrators, parish life coordinators.
I also think the role of the Permanent Diaconate will also be evolving. 40 years ago, we did not even have Deacons and since then they have proven to be of value to the church. Deacons held a very prominent role in the life of the early church but unfortunately over time their role was diminished and was only rediscovered and recovered in the last 25-30 years. Up to this point, Deacons assisted at Mass, preached, performed baptisms, witnessed marriages, presided at funeral services and visited the sick. Their role will also be evolving and they may be administrating parishes and parish programs.
My point is this; our Lord said, "By their fruits you will know them". Well, good fruit has been born. It is evidenced by the life and vitality that is in many of our parishes. However, I think we are getting to a point where ones willingness to serve the church will have to be equaled by professional and ongoing education. Pastoral Ministers, Parish Business Administrators, Pastoral Associates, Faith Formation directors, will need theological training in order to be prepared to serve the church. I am not saying that anyone who helps has to have such training but those who will assume parish leadership will. God's grace works here, too. At times, I cannot help think that we are somewhat in a position as was the early chruch. We may not know what lies ahead but we face it with faith, and if we have faith, we have enough.
Let us continue to pray and care for each other.....
Father Bart
Sacrament of Holy Eucharist
This year our parish celebrates the reception of First Eucharist on Sunday, May 4th at the 9:30 am Mass and Sunday, May 18th at the 11:30 am Mass.
The First Eucharist is celebrated within the regularly scheduled weekend liturgies in order to better incorporate the children into the life of the parish and to help them experience their Faith as more than just "going to class" or another subject to study at school. Belonging to the parish community and regularly attending mass are important parts of their Faith development and it is important for them to experience what membership in this community means. We hope that they feel that they belong to and are valued by the parish community - with whom they will celebrate this Sacrament each weekend. Whether you know it or not, you have already been a part of the children's Faith development. Every time that they see you in church, you have an impact on them.
Please help to make these celebrations filled with joyful welcome in which our parish's children, their families, and guests are made to feel welcomed to our parish community and encouraged to grow in their love of God.
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Church Grounds
As you may know, our parish takes great pains to keep our grounds beautiful. But it is not easy. It not only takes a great deal of time, but also effort. We have been blessed to have a few people who have generously volunteered their time and labor to keep everything looking great... but I need to emphasize the word - FEW. The time has come that we need more people to help us out. We do have a large area to keep up and flower beds that need weeding and watering. To that end, we hope to get some volunteers who would be willing to help as "Garden Angels". It is our hope that enough people would help out so that we could form small groups that would be responsible for only a particular section. Usually we plant our flowers and beds around Memorial Day. If you are interested in joining our "Garden Angels", either contact Ziggy Kucewicz Sr. or the Rectory.
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Front Flower Bed
A core group of people have been looking into the idea of doing some kind of landscaping on the front lawn of the church. This would be the area around the flagpole. The idea would be to build a flowerbed with a pitch or angle to it so it could be seen from George Urban Boulevard. Of course, this would mean the excavation of the present site, laying the bed itself, as well as assembling a retaining wall. Hopefully, we would be able to place the lettering, "OLBS" on the bed itself, either in stone, flowers, or greenery. As this project unfolds, we will need some help. So when the time comes, please consider donating a few hours. We will let you know.
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