My Thoughts in the Bulletin this Week

 I think Mother Nature is pushing us all to the limit. Last week there were several people upset about parking. One of our parishioners said to me, “Fr. Robert you have to do something. There is no room in the parking lot and I had to park so far away it was like I was walking from New Britain to get to Church. This has to change or I won't contribute anymore.” She was noticeably upset. Gratefully, I did not respond in kind. Who knows what was going on in her mind and in her heart. Maybe having to park a longer distance from the church was the straw that broke the camel's back in her life. I assure you we are doing the best we can with the parking lot. I am writing this on Monday before the next big storm comes our way, and I have to say I am writing with a kind of dread, worrying to myself, “Where will we put the new snow when we don't even have a place for the old snow?”
Here are some ideas... that might help us all..

·          Why not check with neighbors and car pool to Mass? A few less cars would go a long way to help alleviate our congestion.

·          Don't forget that we have Mass at 5:00 PM on Sunday. There is always plenty of room in the parking lot during that Mass.

·          The 4:00 PM on Saturday, the 9:00 and 10:30 AM Masses are the most attended. If you normally attend one of those Masses, you might consider switching to a Mass with a smaller attendance.

Finally, when things start pushing you to the edge, take a deep breath, blow it out slowly and remember that perfect is in heaven.

           In the same light, after the 9:00 PM Mass, a concerned parishioner told me that he had worked on the roof of our school gym and he was concerned about the weight of the snow. “Who isn't worried,” I thought to myself. Then he told me he had noticed some cracks in the gym wall on both corners near the Parish Center. I went right over and sure enough there were some cracks up there. I couldn't tell if they were new cracks in the wall or had been there for awhile. I immediately called Ed Janik, who is on our building committee, and we both looked at the cracks.

           To err on the side of safety, we decided that we would cancel any activities that were scheduled in the gym and call in some structural engineers to look at the gym and the cracks. Thankfully, both of the gentlemen who looked inside and outside of the gym came to the same conclusion. The cracks in the brick veneer of the gym wall were not affecting the structure at all. There was no indication of a structural problem according to both of the engineers. Only when we got the green light from the experts did we let people back in the gym. Right now Bill Diciccio and Jack Burns, our maintenance staff, are  shoveling off the gym roof to make room for the ice and snow which is forecast for tomorrow.

  As you can see from the insert, we have hired a new Director of Music and Liturgy. I am very excited to begin working with Jeff. Several people made positive comments after his audition. As you can see from the comments on the insert, he is held in high esteem by many. Welcome to St. Paul's Jeff.!

  Fr. Robert