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Thanks to everyone who made the Solemnity of Pentecost this past weekend a real
celebration. It was a good birthday for the Universal Church and, just by
chance, it was also a good birthday for me!
Last week I promised that this week I would address the Parish Council’s desire
of renovating the “Old Church” into a Parish Center. I will begin this process
today.
I arrived here to be pastor of Our Lady of the Lake (and Our Lady of the Ozarks
in Forsyth) on November 21, 2005. It is hard to explain what it is like to move
into a new assignment as a priest. One is bombarded with lots of
things…people’s names & faces…keys to buildings…people’s names & faces…where
does this box go…people’s names & faces…what street do I live on…etc. It really
is overwhelming! For the first month, I thought that I would just try to make
myself at home and try to celebrate Advent and Christmas in the best way I
could.
After about 2 months, I thought that I would begin asking some questions about
the various ministries and activities of the parish. During that time, I’m
thinking it was sometime in mid-January of 2006, I decided to ask “the
question” to some leaders of the Parish Council. The question was, “So, tell
me, what is going on with the ‘Old Church’ building?” The answer I remember
best was that there had been dialogue about the “Old Church” but no real
decision had been made. It seems several possible options had been discussed
for the “Old Church” after it was vacated. However, no consensus had been
reached for how it should be developed.
I think I will stop for this week and address the topic of “consensus” next
week. I will also continue my understanding of how “we” got to the renovation
of the “Old Church” into the Parish Center.
Thanks for your time in pondering these remarks! Know of my thoughts and
prayers for your and your loved ones.
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