From the Bulletin 1/13/2013

We’re almost there!!!
We are almost there!   Our goal for the End of the Year Appeal is $ 74,000  and we have received $ 73,197.  Thank you for caring so much about our parish. Now that we are so close to our goal, we will review our bids and begin to work on all of the proposed safety projects listed in the appeal. I know that I will sleep a lot better knowing that our Church and everyone in it is protected by a state of the art Fire Alarm System and access control. The  new doors and access control in the Parish Center will also be a big improvement. I promise to stay within our budget. Any extra funds will be placed in reserve in case we need some security enhancements for our school in light of the Newtown Tragedy.

Stuff
Just so you know, the furnace in the Parish Center is giving us fits. The repairman has been out several times to fix it, but it keeps breaking.  I’m not sure where this is going to go, but I hope that for the time being they can keep it running.

A lot of you complimented our new snow removal crew.  They seemed to do a good job getting rid of the snow and the ice. However, one of our parishioners was very concerned and  pointed out to me that they also hit the playground fence and dug up the grass all over the place. I know, and I want to assure you we’re on it. When the ground is covered with snow, it’s hard to see what you are doing. Once the crew learns our property a little better, they have promised that these types of mistakes won’t happen. They have assured me they will fix everything when spring comes.

Chatty Kids
Last week I received a couple of polite emails (Thank You) concerning our confirmation students and their behavior at Mass. It seems that several of them forgot where they were and continually talked during Mass last week. The glances given by the adults around them did not seem to have any effect. I will speak to our kids and their teachers about behavior in Church. Experience has shown that perhaps a glance is not sufficient to get the point across that they should be quiet in Church. Maybe next time you should simply politely and calmly say, “Hey guys, can you be quiet in Church?”  Slow but sure...

First Confessions
Yesterday (Saturday) our Third Graders made their first confessions. It was beautiful. Most of them were very well prepared. I want to thank our catechists for all of their hard work. Hearing those beautiful little ones humbly confess their sins was like being stoned with cotton balls. Their good example should cause us all to reflect on how we appreciate and approach this most challenging but beautiful sacrament. If you don’t have any sins and don’t need to go to confession, come up and introduce yourself. I’d love to meet you.

More on our Kids
Our Youth Ministry is going well.  Sal and those who work with him are doing a good job. I am impressed by both the number attending our High School Youth Group and the consistency with which they attend. Sal and Chris are doing a great job at forming good healthy relationships with our High School kids. The experts tell us that good relationships are the key to a great youth ministry program.

Sal met with some great Middle School parents last week and it went well. The Middle School Youth Group starts tonight. In the future, it is our hope to have Open Gym Nights for Middle School students on Sunday Nights after the youth group. We’ll keep you posted.

I want you to know that Fr. Peter, Sal and I regularly visit our Religious Education classes to try and get to know our kids.  This week, Sal will be adding a regularly scheduled presence in our school during the school day.  It has always been clear to me that this parish is most concerned about our youth. A couple of years ago, it was the number one concern. As you can see, we are working very hard with time and resources to address this concern. Yes, our children are the future of the Church.