Summer “ended” on a strong note and now September is getting into full swing. There are many interesting parish programs which we will be undertaking as we move forward this month, and I hope that you will be able to take advantage of them. Please read through the bulletin to discover the many exciting things we have planned.
It is that time of the year – the carnival is next weekend. The committee has worked hard all summer making sure that we have the best experience yet, and I am confident that they have everything in place for a fun and community building weekend.
We opened with 395 students this past week at SBS. While that number is lower than we would have liked we are happy for the students we have and continue to be grateful that their parents desire and make happen a Catholic education for their children. Seeing all of their smiling (well, maybe not all smiling) faces on their first day back certainly makes everything on the complex come alive. With some good initiatives underway – and others in the works – we feel like we are poised for a good and blessed year.
The Outdoor Classroom Project which we talked about in the Spring is on hold due to Planning Board issues with the township. We have the money and the commitments we need to get the project accomplished, we just need to jump through the proverbial hoops to get it done.Father JM and I will be away from Tuesday afternoon until Thursday at the annual diocesan Priest’s Convocation. It is an opportunity for the priests of the diocese to get together, enjoy one another’s company, and reenergize. There is also a speaker who gives a mini-retreat/workshop over the couple of days. It is always a good experience to just be away.
This weekend our Seventh and Eighth Grade Confirmation Program kicks off. This program, which we implemented four years ago, enables the older religious education students the time to dig more deeply into faith questions and issues, and to begin to build relationships and to explore their place in the parish family and in the church at large. Let us remember to pray for them, and for their families, so that they might find the strength and grace to seriously respond to the call of the Lord as they encounter him now in their lives.
We know that these are not easy times to be a teenager (were there ever easy times?). The challenges from the culture, the cyber-universe, and the schools, can make both parenting and being parented very difficult indeed. Through the work of Mrs. Dayton and our faith formation team, we are attempting to offer some strong programs to assist parents in the journey. We know that some parents don’t want to hear it – or at least to hear it yet – nonetheless, we all need support and prayers in the ministry that is being a parent.
May the Lord bless us this week,
Fr. Garry
God of mercy, in your word of Scripture, you instruct us to
"Do to others as you would have them do to you."
Give us today the courage to assist those around us who may need our assistance.
Give us patience when we become impatient.
But above all give us a heart thankful for those who have given their lives as first responders,
as did the men and women who ran towards the Twin Towers in New York City on 9-11.
We ask all this in the name of the One who first responded to our need for a savior,
Jesus the Christ.
Amen.