Deacon Paul’s Administrative Update-JANUARY 2021
January 11, 2021
CHRISTMAS 2020WRAP UP
Happy New Year, 2021! Peace and all good to each and every one of you.
Following are some long overdue 2020 Christmas Wrap up items. It is with deep gratitude that I mention these important PARISH items:
- On Friday December 18, 2020 approximately twenty Parish volunteers helped with the packaging and distribution of forty Christmas welcome gift bags to our neighbors at Friar Flats. The gift bags were donated by our Parish and included a ham, various bakery, candy, fresh fruit, and a welcome letter from the Parish. I am told that some of the Friar Flat residents are now attending Masses. Please welcome them at Mass if you are able. Unfortunately, we will not be able to have a social gathering with them until after the end of the pandemic.
- I would like to thank the fifty one Parishioners that contributed approximately $9,000 to our CHRISTMAS RED BOX COLLECTION. These funds will help keep our Church heated throughout the winter!
- A big thank you to all who helped out with the Church Christmas Decorating on Tuesday December 22 and the take down on Tuesday January 5. The decorations were again beautiful this year.
- Also, a thank you for all of your prayers as I battled the dreaded Covid-19 over the Christmas season, which is why you did not see me at the Christmas liturgies. I am now recovered and never had serious illness other than the isolation which we are all experiencing in one way or another. Please continue to PRAY for an end to the Pandemic and all who suffer from it.
- Finally, if you did not pick up your Christmas gift from the Parish, Matthew Kelly’s book “I Heard God Laugh”, copies are still available at the Church Office. PLEASE PICK UP THE BOOK AND READ IT. I began reading it right after the New Year and found the book really amazing and appropriate for our times. For example, at page 6, Mr. Kelly states: “IT IS AN UNAVOIDABLE FACT THAT OUR LIVES DO NOT UNFOLD AS WE HOPE AND EXPECT THEM TO. IT IS ALSO WORTH POINTING OUT THAT VERY OFTEN WE ARE DEFINED BY HOW WE RESPOND TO THE UNEXPECTED EVENTS OF LIFE. THE UNEXPECTED, WHETHER GOOD OR BAD, REVEALS CHARACTER. HOW THEN DO WE PREPARE FOR THE UNEXPECTED? PRAYER. PRAYER IS THE ULTIMATE PRAPARATION FOR THE UNEXPECTED. PRAYER HELPS US DEVELOP THE AWARENESS, VIRTUE, AND CHARACTER THAT ARE ESSENTIAL WHEN YOUR LIFE GETS TURNED UPSIDE DOWN.” This is just one excerpt. There are of course many more. After the pandemic ends, I would love to have a group discussion on this book, so please prepare for that!
Please get vaccinated from Covid-19 as soon as it is available to you. Once vaccinated please come back to Church to worship in community. All of us I believe now have a greater appreciation for gathering in community after being isolated all of these months. Blessings to each of you.
Deacon Paul