In the picture above, you can see me signing one of the beams that will go into our new Pastoral Center. Last weekend we gave all parishioners a chance to sign the beams, and a lot of you signed. It was fun to see people gathered around the two beams after every Mass, and to see all the signatures that were there by Sunday night. But that’s not all! On Monday all the students of our Parish School were given the opportunity to sign as well. Now the beams are covered with signatures: people of all ages, from all backgrounds, have all made their mark on these structural parts of the new Pastoral Center.
Meanwhile, everyone has been enjoying our new Narthex, which will be blessed at the beginning of each Mass this weekend. It is a great place for people to calm themselves before entering the church proper, as well as a nice place to greet each other and talk after Mass. In this way the church proper is maintained as a quiet, sacred space for people to pray, and at the same time we can enjoy being together as a community.
Another event which I am anticipating with great joy is our second Evening of Encounter, which will be in the church on January 20th from 7:00 pm to 8:30 pm. Our first Evening of Encounter (last October) was well attended, and it received great response from all who participated. No doubt those who enjoyed it the first time will come again. But if you did not come
to the Evening in October, I really hope you will come this time and experience what people are talking about: a free-flowing gathering of people (of all faith backgrounds), brought together by their desire to encounter the presence of Christ in a special way; the inspiration of a strong, relatable message; the incomparable music of Johnny Oskam and his band; the Eucharistic Presence of the Lord on the altar; the availability of prayer partners for individual prayer; and the list could go on. I hope to see you there, and I hope you’ll bring a friend with you.
Gratefully Yours,
