Dear Parish Family,
Merry Christmas everyone! Our Christmas Season this year began on December 25th and will end on January 9th. So, keep those Creche’s up and keep singing the carols. I love how beautiful our Churches look during the Christmas season and I often go over in the evenings when everyone has gone for the day. I put on all the Christmas lights and the Christmas carols, and simply sit with God. It is one of my favorite things to do during Christmas. It’s a great time to give thanks to God for His many blessings in my life and in the life of our parish.
Speaking of giving thanks, I would like to take this opportunity to express my gratitude to everyone who contributed to our Christmas Masses. First, I would like to thank my clergy brothers for their prayerful preparations, energy, time, talent and homilies over the Advent and Christmas seasons. Their efforts and spirit help prepare us for the awesome event of the birth of Christ. It was also very nice to welcome Fr. Larry to the home team. He is a great Christmas gift to all of us. May God bless your ministry Father.
Special thanks to Fr. George who will be leaving us in January. On behalf of our parish family, we wish you a wonderful assignment at Our Lady Queen of Peace Parish. We appreciate all you did for us.
To our wonderful music leaders, Liz, Norma, and Rebecca and their different choirs, cantors, and instrumentalists. I thank you for adding such beauty, reflection, and joy to our Christmas celebrations. Music truly adds a dimension to our worship that is key to understanding the mysteries of Christ.
To all who proclaimed the Word and those who distributed the Eucharist over the weekend celebrations I thank you for bringing forth the essence of our spiritual nourishment. God bless you for what you do for Him.
To Barbara and Mary, our Environment leaders and their team of decorators, thank you for transforming our worship space to reflect the holiness of this season. Your talent, hard work and faithfulness is very appreciated.
To our Technology Team, what a gift you are to our parish and especially to those who are unable to join us in person. I know my mom and dad were singing along in their living room during the Lessons and Carols presentation.
Thank you to the dedicated Altar Servers who are a tremendous help. We truly appreciate all that you do while serving at the Altar of the Lord. I know that God is incredibly pleased with you for stepping forward to serve Him and His Church. You are all terrific.
To our ushers, thank you for being so welcoming and helpful to both our parishioners and to the many guests who joined us on Christmas. A warm greeting goes a long way.
I offer sincere appreciation to all of you who attended our Masses, either in person or on livestream, in this season of hope and joy. Your generosity, presence, prayers, faith added a whole other dimension to the beauty of the season. You are appreciated. I also would like to thank everyone for their beautiful cards, notes, gifts and goodies that made their way to the Rectory. We appreciate your kind words, generosity and culinary skills. We are blessed by your presence in our lives.
And finally, I would like to thank the Creator of us all for His abundant blessings on our community. May His grace and love always shine in our hearts and His strength steady the journey we take together.
Peace,
Fr. Rick