October
22,2006
Washington
Trip
Super
Raffle
We’re a a week away from giving away $10,000 in our “reverse
raffle”. Only 250 tickets will be sold and there are only a few
left. Each costs $100 and the proceeds support our school. Tickets available
in the Parish Center.
Youth@Saint
Brigid
Last week I noted that the kickoff for this season of youth ministry
at St. Brigid’s would begin soon. The date was changed after the
bulletin went to press. Please invite high school age students and their
families to the 6pm mass on Sunday November 12th.
Marriage Help Weekend
Next weekend I’ll be away since I’m part of the team giving a special retreat for couples whose marriages need help. I just heard that there are still openings for the weekend so if you’d like to attend call (800) 470-2230 to register. This Retrouvaille weekend will help put your marriage back on track.
Off
to College?
Are you or your child away at college? At St. Brigid’s we like
to stay in touch via occasional e-mails as we send photos and news from
“home”. College students wishing to be connected through
our “Letters from home” can sign up online here
or you can mail or
e-mail thecollege names and e-mail addresses to Father Ralph and he’ll
put them on the list.
Census
Continues
Of the approximate 6,000 families we usually send mail to, we’ve
received completed Census booklets from over 4,000. So we’ve got
a ways to go.
Is your booklet in?
e-mail Father Ralph:
Past Columns:
October 15: Marriage Help
October 8: Fall Fix Up
October 1: Cut Off Week
Sept 24:War Begins At Home
Sept 17: Who Do You Think
You Are?
Sept
10:God Be With You
Sept 3: Back to
School
August 27: Merry Christmas
August 20: Wine or No Wine
August 13: Mangia...
August 6: Mixed News
July 30: Impossibly Little
July 23: Come away!
July 16: Got a Mission?
July 9:Missing God
July 2: Jesus Interrupted
June 25: One Here, One to
Come
June 18: A Father's Gift
June 11: Charity Begins
At Home
June 4: Turning Silver
May 28: Eight Years •
Eight Months
May 21: If Any
May14: Celebrating Mothers
May 6: Celebrating Priests
April30: Baked Fish
April 23: What we hear
April 16: Out of the Tomb
April 9: Jesus, Our Source
of Peace
April 2: NOW, Can you Hear
Me?
Mar 26: Can You Hear Me
Again?
Mar 19: Can You Hear Me
Now?
Mar 12: Now Take 4Steps
March 5: Take A Step
Feb 26:Coming Home
Feb19: Visiting Heros
Feb 12: Passing Pastor
Feb 4: Annual Appeal
Jan 22: Abandoned Nets
Jan 15: Everlasting Life
Jan 8: I'm not going to
jail..
Jan 1: Happy New Year
Columns
from 2005
Columns
from 2004
Columns from
2003
Columns from 2002
I had
the chance to travel to Washington DC as one of the chaperones for our
6th, 7th and 8th graders who were touring our nation’s capital.
We visited the various monuments and memorials, stopped in at museums,
visited the Pope John Paul II Cultural Center, went to the National Cemetery
and celebrated Mass at the Basilica of the Immaculate Conception.
It’s not often that I get
to spend that kind of time with that many children and I wanted to write
about this trip because I felt so proud of our boys and girls throughout
the trip -- not only were they polite and well behaved, but they were
kind and generous to each other. They shared lunch money. The older ones
helped the chaperones looked after the younger ones.
Of course credit is due all around
-- Mrs. Sue Lyons and Mrs. Lynn Lennon , the teachers from our school,
and the parents who went along as chaperones, all were so caring. They
provided a safe and enjoyable environment as we traveled along, taking
care of the inevitable challenges(“I can’t find my cell phone”...
“Where’s the bathroom?”....“Are we there yet?”)
Two other things were obvious --
(1) These children’s families had taught them how to live kind and
generous lives. (2) By belonging to St. Brigid/Our Lady of Hope School,
these children were already living in community long before we boarded
the busses.
You can see photos of our trip online at www.saintbrigid.net/pow/10.06/washntn.html
A trip like this one is just one
of the many “extras” that make our school special -- community
building events such as the recent family pasta night, or last week’s
movie night, help families to grow together in community too. Many people
send their children to Catholic schools because of the high quality of
academics, the “discipline”, and the faith that is shared.
We’ve got all that and so much more.
