March 30, 2003
Pastoral Visits
"Warm"
Thanks
After
the bills for this cold winter piled up like the snow, I’m very
grateful to all who gave so generously in the winter Fuel Oil/snow removal
collection.
We collected $7105 toward our $45,000 expenses for fuel oil and snow
removal.
Palm
Sunday
Last
year on Palm Sunday we noticed the massive traffic jams and parking
problems that kept people from getting to church. We also had several
hundred people standing outside the school chapel for the 11:45 mass
since there was no more room inside. So we’re trying to make things
easier by moving the masses at the school into Code Auditorium which
is larger than the chapel and by moving the Family Mass Celebration
to the school on Palm Sunday only. (Procession to begin at 9:30 at Drexel
Ave school-- but I’d suggest getting there at 9:15.)
We’re moving the Palm Sunday Pancake breakfast to May 4th as part
of an Easter Season Communion Breakfast.
Away
at College?
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love to stay in touch.
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you to college as a reminder to send in your e-mail address. Just Click
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Technology Ministry
If you’d like to give your time and expertise at helping our parish
connect its telephone systems or work on its website, you can let us
know by filling in our
online form
Want
to e-mail Father Ralph?
Past Columns:
March 23: Turning Tables
March
16: Transfiguring Imagination
March
9: Beasts and Angels
March 2: Lent and Imagination
Feb 23: Sorrow
Far and Wide
Feb 16: Saints
Feb 9: Columbia Lessons
Feb2: Giving At A Difficult
Time
Jan 26: Penny Power
& Catholic Schools
Jan19: Yet Another
Year
Jan 12: Stealing Jesus
Jan5: The Wise Still Come
From Afar
Columns from 2002
Next weekend, Bishop John Dunne will be coming
to St. Brigid’s parish for a pastoral visit. Bishop Dunne is the
Episcopal Vicar for the parishes in the central part of the diocese and
he visits each of the parishes over a two to three year period. He has
visited St. Brigid’s before, so many of you have had the opportunity
to speak with him and listen to him in years past.
Bishop Dunne will be speaking at each of
the masses -- a daunting task since we have so many masses, some being
celebrated at the same time! But he does want to get a chance to see all
our parishioners. At some masses he’ll have the opportunity to meet
and greet folks after the mass, at other times he’ll need to be at
the next mass instead. He will also be meeting with a variety of leadership
groups in the parish during his stay.
In these turbulent times for the church and
the world we’re glad he will be with us next weekend.
This week I also received a notice from the Pastoral Care Department at Nassau University Medical Center. St. Brigid’s parish has a team of dedicated volunteers who visit our parishioners who are hospitalized there and until now the hospital has been able to provide them with lists of patients who are Catholic and who are from our parish area. Due to a change in federal law, they will no longer be able to do this. They CAN let our ministers know where patients are located in the hospital, it’s just that we can’t automatically visit patients anymore. So it’s important that patients and family members let us know when one of our parishioners is hospitalized. Please call the Parish Center. We will certainly pray for them, and our hospital visitation team can then visit them in the course off their stay.
Each of the area hospitals has a chaplain who ministers to the sacramental needs of our hospitalized patients. But we would be very happy to celebrate the Sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick with a person and his/her family when they’re at church before they enter the hospital. Just ask any of our priests and he will be happy to pray with the person and anoint those who are facing hospitalization.
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