Some parishioners have called wondering when their end of the year contribution statements will be arriving.  The Zartarian Company which does our envelopes also creates these statements.  They were to mail them out last week.  If you do not receive your statement within the next week or so please call Steven at the parish office.

   A few weeks ago I mentioned that we will be continuing to implement parts of the new General Instruction to the Roman Missal or GIRM.  The next addition we will implement is not really new, but has been given a new emphasis.  In our Profession of Faith, the Creed, the document calls for us to bow at the words “by the power of the Holy Spirit he was born of the Virgin Mary, and became man.”  This bow of honor recognizes the incredible and mysterious nature of God coming to us in our flesh and blood through the divine Spirit of God and the human vulnerability of Mary.  You are invited to include this bow in our proclamation of the Creed.

   In all, 75 parishioners were nominated to run for 4 seats on the Parish Pastoral Council.  9 parishioners have chosen to take up the call.  This weekend you have received a pamphlet with the names of the nominees as well as their reflections on the life of our parish community.  I encourage you to prayerfully discern which of these folks is being called to ministry through your vote.  Again we are looking for people with vision, good listeners, people who are open minded and receptive to many different points of view. 

   We will be beginning the process of finding a Director of Faith Formation within the next month.  As you recall, a group of parishioners came together in the fall to interview candidates and the person we chose initially accepted our offer and subsequently withdrew from the position.  At the time Joanie Barclay agreed to fill the position of coordinator of Generations of Faith until a new Faith Formation Director was hired. Joanie has done outstanding work in this area and is looking forward to the time when she can take up her Pastoral Associate duties in a fuller way. The many parishioners who have assumed leadership roles in the Generations program are a direct result of Joanie’s care and dedication to faith formation and to our parish.  Thank you to Joanie and all who serve our community so well in the Generations of Faith program.

   A while back I mentioned how our Stewardship Committee desired to reach out to folks in hurricane torn Louisiana by teaming up with a parish that could use our support.  Members of our community have been speaking with Fr. Matthew Gullamangalam, a priest originally from India who is pastor of St. John the Evangelist and St. James parishes in Erath, LA.  Fr. Matthew just received word that the diocese of Lafayette has given him the green light to rebuild his parishes.  The bad news is that insurance will cover less than a third of the one million dollar cost.  There are already a couple of small Catholic parishes willing to help him rebuild and I hope that St. Matthias parish will be the third.  In the meantime, please keep all the folks devastated by last summer’s storms in your prayers as they continue the slow and painful process of rebuilding their lives.