October
9, 2005
Parishioners:
Don’t Read This
Oktoberfiesta
If you’re a parish volunteer, and you didn’t get your free
ticket to our upcoming volunteer thank you party on October 21st, you
can stop in the Parish Center or Religious Education Office and we’ll
gladly give you a ticket. A fun and delicious evening is being planned
for all our parish volunteers.
Turning
Up the Heat
We’re all shuddering at the thought of our next heating oil bill
and we’re grateful for these warm autumn days. Recently we’ve
been giving tours of our boiler rooms to several engineering firms who
will make proposals to bring us from the old coal-fired boilers (circa
1919) to something more efficient. We haven’t burned coal in decades
as these boilers were retro-fit to burn oil. And boy , do they burn
oil!!
Our parish building committee will meet to look over the proposals and
we hope to upgrade next summer.
CollegeStudents
If you know students who are away at college, let us know so we can
keep touch via e-mail.
Sign up here!
e-mail Father Ralph:
Past Columns:
Oct 2: What would Jesus Sign?
Sept 25: New Pastor
Sept 18: Welcome Gonzalo
Sept 11: New Beginnings
Sept 4: Spreading the Faith
August 28:World Youth Day
Words
August 21: Dressing Up
August 14: Harsh
Words
August 7: Tiny Whispering
Sound
July 31: Welcoming Rob
July 24:Wedding Bells
July 17: Summer Weeding
July 10: Ministry to Seniors
July 3: The Painters are
Coming!
June 26: The Last 25%
June19: Sommer in the
Summer
June 12: Great News Anoying
News
June 5: What's Essential
May 29: Setting Priorities
May 22: Painting Project
May 15: We are the Church
May 8:Mother of the Church
May 1: On Life and Death
April 24: Habemus Papam
April 17: The Spirit Abounds
April 10: Two men on a journey
April 3: He's baaack!
March 27th: Not the best
news...yet
March 20th: What are You
Doing For Easter?
March 13th: The Stench
March 6: To Tell or Not
To Tell
February 27: Dry Mouth Dry
Soul
February 20: Good to Be
Here
February 13: And he was
hungry?
Ash Wednesday '05
February 6: Ashes Already?
January 23: Catholic Schools
Week
January 16: Continued Charity
January 9: Migration
January 2:All is bright?
Columns from 2004
Columns from 2003
Columns from 2002
If
you’re a parishioner of St. Brigid’s you probably got a mailing
this week inviting you to help us finish our payments on the church renovation
job. As we mentioned in the brochure, most of the cost of the job was
covered by the Millennium Fund that many parishioners participated in
over the years.
The “moment of truth”
came when we had to decide whether to re-finish the pews and the floors
at the same time as we did the painting. This would put us over budget
and there wasn’t enough money to cover that expense. Some advised
that we should wait for another year; others pointed out that one disruption
(where we had to close the church during the weeks in the summer) is better
than two. Others pointed out that the pews and floors would look terribly
shabby in comparison with the new clean paint job.
So, we decided to do not half a
job, but the whole job. Of course that leaves us with bills to pay and
thus we sent out our mailing asking for families to contribute $50 (or
more) if they are able at this time.
This week I’m writing this
column not to those who got the mailing, but to the hundreds who didn’t.
You see, one quarter of the people who attend mass at St. Brigid’s
on weekends and one third of those who attend during the week aren’t
parishioners. I’m quite happy that so many come here to find the
peace of God, and to join in our life-giving liturgies. Our church is
open for visits all day and all evening. We celebrate three masses each
day during the week and offer time for the Sacrament of Reconciliation
after the 12:10 mass each day and people flock in from miles around to
take advantage of these services.
So if you’re one of the folks
who calls another parish “home”, but you’re a frequent
participant at St. Brigid’s, perhaps you’d consider this invitation
to make a contribution to help us pay for the beautiful
renovation of our church and your “home away from home.”
We’ll leave some brochures and envelopes at the doors of the church
in case you can help us out. Thanks.
