I'm writing this from the library at The Chautauqua Institution where, thanks to the miracle of the wireless modem, I can pick up e-mail, check the internet and send this weekly update instantly to about 100 friends.

On Saturday, Pat's family held a reunion at Letchworth State Park.
Letchworth is a magnificent park with beautiful vistas and about 15 miles of gorges and walking paths around its rim. It was about 39 years ago at this same park that, while chaperoning a group of teen girls from the old Holy Angel's Home in Rochester, cupid's dart hit its target and Pat and I decided to make our relationship more than a passing fancy. A few months later we became engaged.

The Best Family Reunion was held in a large pavilion at Tea Table Rock.
About 100 Bests, McGraths, Merideths, Prouds, and Scheps, all descendents or spouses of descendents of Albert and Ethel Best visited, cooked picnic meals, posed for family photos and played volleyball and/or guitar.

It was a grand day with Pat's siblings, aunts, uncles and cousins coming from near and far including Denver, Winnipeg, Maine, Minnesota, Florida and of course - Rochester, NY where the "Brit" Alfred Best and his Canadian bride Ethel (both long deceased) took up residence four generations ago.
Pat is the oldest of 11 children. All but one was able to attend the reunion. Personally it was good to be with our own family and to experience our three adult children Chris, Annie, and Monica enjoy the company of their cousins and each other.

Our priest Chaplains at Chautauqua this week are Redemptorist Father Timothy Keating, formally of Notre Dame Retreat House in Canandaigua, who currently does retreat work out of Saratoga Springs, NY and Auxiliary Bishop Roger Gries, O.S.B of Cleveland. He is a former abbot of a Benedictine Abbey near Cleveland who had planned on retiring when the call came form Rome. Both are delightfully approachable men and outstanding homilist.

I'll be returning to Bath on Tuesday evening, visiting the neuro-surgeon in Sayre, PA on Wednesday and working in the parish for five or six days before returning hear for the last two weeks of the Season.

A favor . . . please add my friends Bonny Hogan and Jo Warren to your prayer list. Both were hospitalized last week and would I'm sure cherish the prayer support of all.

Blessings to all . . .

My Sent to Serve column this week can be accessed by clicking the image to the right. . Click the image to the right for our printable column (Adobe PDF file, plugin needed)

August 7, 2005

My Recent Letter to Parishioners
I want to thank all who have returned the Weekly giving form that was on the bottom of the letter I sent last week to all registered parishioners.
Your response will assist our Finance Committee in preparing a balanced budget for the 2005-2006 fiscal year.

Since sending the letter, our office staff has received several phone calls and at least one letter questioning the system we used in arriving at an “average weekly donation.” Several noted that they give substantially more than the “average” amount printed on their letter. I am sure that these parishioners are correct because most of us who contribute to our church on a weekly basis know exactly the amount they place in the envelope or, in my case, how much is deducted from my paycheck.

So, how could this happen? In some cases, the answer may be a simple recording error. In other cases, the decisions we made in calculating an “average” donation. The letter was very specific in stating that only “weekly envelope offerings” were counted. To arrive at the number we presented as an average weekly offering, we asked our computer program to divide the recorded “weekly envelope offerings” by 52 – the number of weeks in a year. Easter donations, Christmas donations, second collections, mission appeals, flower donation, etc. were not included. If a person was away attended Mass in Bradford or Hammondsport and did not mail us their offering envelope – that also would affect the “average.” Letters sent to our snowbirds and some recent parishioners should have been divided by a number reflecting only the weeks they resided in the parish. But they did not. Regardless, if you believe the amounts to be in error, let us know and we’ll try to get it right.

Remember the “Good Old Days?” I remembered a time when each January my parish in Rochester published in the Sunday bulletin the amount each parishioner had contributed in the previous year. If you recall those days, you’ll be happy to know that only you have access to the information on the letter that you received. I am the only person on staff or committee who knows what was requested of you in your letter. And, in most cases, because the letters were word-processed and “mail merged”, only our computer knows the amounts it printed on your letter.

Second Thoughts? If you had to do it all over again, would you have included average weekly donation amounts on the letter?
I’m not sure. While I believe that in most cases the amounts are accurate, obviously some were not. But with over 200 of our parishioners not using envelopes, it was necessary to do something. Many if not all letters stated, “It is important that all parishioners – according to their circumstances – regularly support the parish as generously as they can.
Only you can determine
if your current level of support for Saint Mary’s reflects your best effort in giving back to God proportionally for the gifts you have received.”

Last week, my wife reminded me that I have a tendency to be “thin skinned”
when it comes to criticism. She’s right. So if I’ve seemed to go overboard in my explanations, please bear with me. This is not my favorite part of the job. Unfortunately, it is a part that I cannot avoid.

Last Week’s Pancake Breakfast
It was so good to see O’Malley Hall packed with people last Sunday as our monthly Pancake Breakfasts returned. About 175 people attended (including about 50 from the Gaudino Family who underwrote the breakfast.) Al and Evie Hanning deserve much credit for the success of these breakfasts. They, along with many volunteers, do a wonderful job of bringing our parish family together, feeding us well, and often personally underwriting the cost of the meals as an additional donation to St. Mary’s.

Fr. Erb’s Reception: Regrets and Trivia
Regrettably, I will miss Fr. Erb’s reception this Sunday. Months ago, Pat has asked me to attend her family reunion this weekend at Letchworth Park.
Members of the Best Family will gather from throughout the U.S. Fr. Erb knows how much I appreciate his presence with us and has already accepted my “Family First” excuse. By the way, did you know that Fr. Erb exercises for about an hour each day at HealthWorks? Its a fact. No wonder Energizer Batteries wants to recruit him if that bunny ever retires. He keeps going and going and going.

Next week – Mission Sunday
Next weekend we’ll be joined by Sr. Margaret Regan, SSND for our annual Mission talk. Sister will speak at all Masses at both St. Mary’s and St.
Gabriel’s and our second collection will support the missionary activities of the School Sisters of Notre Dame.

Have a good week. Serve one another well.

I pray that you will enjoy this visit, and if you like,
                                          E-Mail me with your comments

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