Back to Ordinary Time

Greetings to all of you!

Now that the Easter Season and the various Feasts and Solemnities that follow it are almost over (Feast of St. Peter and Paul this weekend), we can now get back to Ordinary Time and take a small breather!  We are back to the Gospel of Matthew as we continue the Cycle A readings. Matthew is written primarily to a Jewish audience hoping that they will follow and learn from the true Messiah.  We will be reading from Matthew until the season of Advent begins on November 30th.  It's hard to believe that it is less than six months before Christmas!  Maybe I will get my shopping done early this year!

As you can see, our building is going up quickly. I am told we are right on schedule (Easter 2015) despite the rains, and when the walls go up the real exciting part begins!  Keep praying for the safety of the workers and the success of our building campaign.

As an added benefit, the 4th of July is on a Friday this year so it makes for a long weekend!  Just be careful, we need you here in one piece on Sunday morning! 

Well, that is all for now.  Enjoy the holiday and be good to one another.

Peace,

Fr. David

     

Congratulations!

Greetings to all of you!

First of all, I would like to congratulate our very own Mary Strickland for graduating from the Lay Pastoral Ministry Institute held at the Cathedral this past week.  The LPMI is an accredited course of studies in theology that prepares students for teaching and working in parish ministry.  It takes four years to achieve this degree and we are so thrilled that Mary was able to accomplish this feat!  Looks like we will all have to genuflect in front of her next time we are in her presence.  I hope she doesn't ask for a raise just yet! Congratulations Mary!

I am also happy to announce two new staff members to our St. Mark family. The first is Yoceline Rincon who will be managing the staff in the front office. Yoceline is a parishioner here and attends the 12:30pm  Mass in Spanish. She also helped with the many decorations in our Sanctuary as a member of the Liturgical Art and Environment committee.  She will be starting on June 18th.

Our other new staff member is Dr. Valarie Mainguy, who will be the Director of Development, Communications, and Marketing for St. Mark Church.  Dr. Valarie is also a parishioner of St. Mark and comes to us with many years of experience in the corporate world.  She will begin her assignment on July 1st.  I'm sure they will make a wonderful addition to our staff as we continue to grow more in the future.  I'm sure you will get a chance to meet them sometime soon and see what great individuals these are. 

As I write this, I've been told that the walls of our new Church might be going up very soon.  It is all so very exciting and I simply ask for your continued financial support to make this a Church for the generations.  If you haven't pledged or you are behind in your payments, I ask that you reach down deep and join the many others who have made this happen. Building a house of God is a privilege and I know He will bless you greatly for your sacrifice.

Well, that is all for now.  May God bless your Stewardship!

Peace,

Fr. David

Welcome Bishop Lynch

Greetings to all of you!

This weekend we welcome Bishop Lynch at the 5:30 pm Sunday Mass as we celebrate the Rite of Confirmation to over 90 young men and women of our parish. This will be the first time that the Bishop will have seen the beginnings of construction of our new Church. I'm sure I will hear an earful!
Speaking of the Church, I didn't realize there would be so many meetings regarding this construction! I am slowly becoming a small expert on roofing, plumbing, wall construction, sound, air conditioning, etc. etc. etc. There are so many acronyms being thrown around that I thought I was also in the military. Of course, sometimes I sit there wondering where God fits in to all this. I guess someday I will know!

Some times during my day off I enjoy sitting in a coffee shop reading and sipping on my favorite beverage. The other day I realized that as I get older, the more "stuff" I have to take in with me. First, the book itself. Then the sunglasses to keep the sun out of my eyes; then reading glasses because they print the sentences so small these days; and finally my cell phone so I can stay connected with the world. I'm running out of pockets! I just hope my knees hold out so I won’t need crutches too.

 

Well, that is all for now. May God bless you as we begin another summer!

 

Peace,

 

Fr. David