July
6, 2008
We
Welcome Westbrook
Celebrating
Father Gonzalo
On June 14, Gonzalo Lopez was ordained to the priesthood for our diocese
by Bishop Murphy. Father Gonzalo had served the parish of Saint Brigid’s
for a year while he was a seminarian, and recently he served on weekends
as a deacon. Since his ordination, Father Gonzalo has been assigned
to the parish of Saint anne’s in brentwood.
On Sunday July 20, Father Gonzalo will celebrate a Mass of Thanksgiving
at
10:45 am in the Chapel of Saint Brigid’s School and all parishioners
are invited to come celebrate with him. The mass will be followed by
a reception in Code Auditorium at noon. All are invited.
It’s not too often that we’re able to celebrate a newly-ordained
priest in our midst and we’re grateful to God that we can celebrate
Father Gonzalo!
e-mail Father Ralph:
Past
Columns:
June 29: Sommer
in the Summer
June 22: Welcome
Father Jaime
June 15: Father
Gonzalo Lopez
June 8: What happened
on Sunday
June 1: Where
do you belong?
May
25: We are the Body of Christ
May 18: Trinity,
It's About Unity
May 11: We are
One in the Spirit
May 4: Who's in
Your Top Twelve?
April 27: Now
that he's gone...
April 20: Yay
Deacons!
April 13: Here
comes the Pope
April 6: Fresh Oil
March 30: What are you doing
for Easter?
March 23: Can Easter come
too early?
March 16: Which crowd is
yours?
March 9: We believe, yet...
March 2: Oil or Mud
February
24: What are you thirsting for?
February 17: Who are You
Wearing?
February 10: Just Say No
February
3: The January
20: Being Safer
January 13: Conversations
in 2008
January 6: Matthew's Magi
December 30:
What's Next?
Christmas
2007 Homily
Columns
from 2007
Columns
from 2005
Columns
from 2004
Columns
from 2003
Columns from 2002
On
Tuesday, June 24th, several hundred parishioners and neighbors came to
an information night about the proposed use of our old convent building
on St, Brigid’s Lane.
Here are some of the highlights of what people learned:
1. The proposed prep school will have 24 students who have Asperger Syndrome
or High Functioning Autism. Since it is a college preparatory school,
students will wear uniforms and be enrolled in a regents program.
2. The agency that is arranging for this school is SCO Family Services
which serves all kinds of family needs on Long Island, however the use
of this school will only be for the children with Aspergers and High Functioning
Autism. No other use of the facility will be permitted by our lease.
3. SCO is not seeking a zoning change. They must apply to the Village
of Westbury to have permission to use the building as a school, since
the area is zoned “Residential.” (Of course there are already
two schools-- on both sides of the convent.)
4. The students at Westbrook Preparatory School will be chosen according
to the New York State Education Department guidelines. NY State is funding
the school.
5. This facility will not be using the services of the Westbury School
District; they will pay for all services (garbage, snow removal, etc.)
so there is no cost to the village or homeowners.
6. The program is not a new, untried program. It is a carefully designed
program that helps develop these young people beyond their academic needs
-- this program exists in surrounding states and Long Island families
had no choice until now but to send their children out of state. This
will be the first school to bring this program to Long Island, so that
families and their children can be close to each other. It is a residential
program for these 24 children, and they will able to visit their families
much more easily.
You can see more information about
Aspergers Syndrome, the proposed school, and the next steps in our lease
process online at the parish website here.
