33rd Sun OT-C’16
State of the Parish Address
This year’s presidential election has been brutal, revealing great anger and division within our nation. Now that it is over it will be temptingly easy to fall into a winner / loser dynamic that can deepen the divide. But I share with you as your pastor a question the Supreme Knight of the Knights of Columbus, Mr. Carl Anderson, asked of his members Tuesday night: “Are we as Catholics going to be a source of unity and reconciliation or a cause of further division?”
Our St. Bernadette Parish (indeed our Catholic Church) is an island in the stream, a port in the storm, the Jiminy Cricket on the shoulder of our society. In this place we will be a source of unity and reconciliation.Unlike Jesus who had a less than cheery report to give those who asked about their temple, I joyfully share with you today my State of St. Bernadette Parish address. It begins and ends with one simple truth: we are the Mystical Body of Christ entrusted with his mission here in our neck of the woods. We are the perpetuation of the incarnation of Christ in the world, for as I teach our kids, God gets to us through us!
This weekend we sign the senses of 12 RCIA participants as we accept them onto our path to full communion. God gets to them through us and God will get to us through them. And just as we [will trace] [traced] the cross on their senses, so I want to “sign” our Mystical Body’s senses so as to name the movement of God’s grace among us as a parish…
Saint Bernadette, receive the sign of the cross on your forehead, ears, and eyes…as the Lord strengthens you to hear and see. Recently we completed our strategic plan which lays out a vision for our future built upon the six pillars of worship, formation, fellowship, neighbor-care, operations and communications. Our strategic plan will advance our mission to hear and see the Lord among us through the embracing of our faith. This strategic plan will guide our growth as disciples through strengthening our Saint Mary Academy families (blessed with the new leadership of Mrs. Lisa Kelly as our principal), and our GIFT program families (blessed with the new leadership of Mrs. Elizabeth Auffrey as our full-time Director of Children’s Religious Formation.)
Our Strategic Plan will accelerate our ability to hear and see the Lord among us through our thriving Adult formation opportunities (close to 200 participants this Fall led by our Roncallli Award winner, Bob Sugrue) as well as guide our new youth ministry program launching this weekend after the 11am Mass under the care of our Pastoral Associate for Intentional Discipleship, Sharon Schumann. Together in this place the Lord strengthens us to hear and see!
Saint Bernadette, receive the sign of the cross on your lips and over your heart…as you respond to God’s Word and dwell in his grace. In just the four months that I have been with you I have witnessed incredible outreach to the needy. The “flames” of corporal and spiritual works of mercy burn bright here! I have witnessed baby bottles for the Little Way Pregnancy Center and a hunger walk for Dare to Care; an outpouring of support for our sister parish in Haiti led by Fr. Bernadine, and thousands of diapers gathered for families struggling to get by. Additionally, many of you have joined me in supporting the greater outreach of the Archdiocese through this year’s Catholic Services Appeal. We have raised to date over $106,000 and are second only to St. James in Elizabethtown in donors participating! I would love for us to take the #1 spot. I have hung large blue flames in our Year of Mercy Narthex display representing each of us who have donated to our CSA drive this year, because participating in CSA is a participation in the Archdiocese’s acts of mercy throughout the year. If you have not yet joined us in this effort I want to encourage you to do so. Together we can be a force for good throughout the Archdiocese and set our community ablaze with mercy. Our zeal for mercy (our zeal for discipleship) is attractive. Over the past four months we have seen 59 new households join us eager to dwell in the grace of God we name and celebrate. Together in this place we respond to the Lord and dwell in his grace!
Saint Bernadette, receive the sign of the cross on your shoulders and hands…as you bear Jesus’ gentle yoke and do his work. We of St. Bernadette stand on the shoulders of a multitude of faithful disciples who have come before us. We have inherited much. To sustain our outreach, we also tend to our own parish community so as to be a healthy and vibrant family of believers ready to name and do God’s will. In just our eight years of existence we have accumulated assets valued at 23 million dollars, and reduced our debt on this to 11.3 million. (Just last year, thanks to our vigilant Finance Committee, we reduced our debt by an additional $530,000!)
Since my arrival I have enjoyed three great parties - a Block Party in late June, an Evening of Excellence with St. Mary Academy in September, and a wonderful Italian dinner in October. I am really looking forward to March when we will enjoy a House Party put on by St. Mary Academy and our own Knights of Columbus. These gatherings help us by bringing us together in fun social settings even as we work together to strengthen our financial foundation. Together in this place we bear Jesus’ gentle yoke and do his work.
Finally, Saint Bernadette, receive the sign of the cross on your feet…as you walk with the Lord into your future. None of us are on our faith journey alone. We walk together striving to bring out the best in one another and to be Christ’s unifying and healing Presence for our society. God gets to us through us, and through us wants to bring all of creation to new life.
We have accomplished much, but there is still much more to do, and I look forward to doing it with you. I am honored to pastor this vibrant parish of believers, and together, through our perseverance in following Jesus and our trust in his promise to gift us with wisdom and protection, we will bring glory to God as the Mystical Body of Christ.
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