December 11 , 2005

Dear friends in life and in ministry,

I'm getting this out on Saturday following our 4:00 p.m. Mass. It's been a relatively quiet week, no doubt a brief calm before Christmas week.

Since I'm really not a "weather" person, I'll avoid the typical update with which I often begin these e-mails. Suffice it to say - we've got snow and its cold. It's also winter - so what would you expect.

Instead I'll share with you about a new friend.

A few week's ago I preached at the Bath Ministerium Thanksgiving service.
Following the service I met Ken Anderson who currently sings with the Bath Presbyterian Church choir. Ken is a gifted bass-baritone singer who has been at the VA in Bath but now hopes to life permanently in our community.
Last night we enjoyed a few Negro spirituals (Ken's specialty and love) at our Bath Rotary Christmas party. Its amazing the people that God sends into our lives. Ken is 77 and walks with a cane - but is voice is powerful and his wealth of knowledge of many things outstanding.

I hope that Ken will also find the time to join our Sunday 9:00 a.m. St. Mary's Choir before the Presbyterian service at 11.
This weekend Ken is singing at the Sunday service at Park Church in Elmira.

Please keep my parishioners' Armand and Lorraine St. Pierre in prayer this weekend. Their son, Armand, Jr. (56) was killed in an automobile accident last night in Kentucky. The other driver also died in the crash.

My column this week is on the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults. The RCIA process has brought new life and hundreds of thousands of new Catholics to the church over the last 25 years.

Blessings to all . . .

Ray

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December 11 , 2005 - The Third Sunday of Advent

The Rites of Christian Initiation of Adults

WELCOMING ADULTS TO BAPTISM AND FULL MEMBERSHIP IN THE
ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH

About twenty five years ago the last liturgical reforms of the Second Vatican Council began appearing in Catholic communities. Known as the Rites of Christian Initiation for Adults or, the RCIA for short, this compilation of rituals marked a return to our ancient form of welcoming new members into the Christian community. In the mid 60’s the Council Fathers set up a commission to study the early traditions of our church and after thoroughly researching these began to assemble the new rites which would become the new (actually old) standard for the process of celebrating “conversion”. Interestingly enough however, the reformers of these rituals did not use the word “conversion” because they did not want to give the impression that “conversion” was a one time experience. It is rather, a life long process, and not just for those coming to the church, but for all of us.

Using the norms laid out in the RCIA, every parish community is expected to have its own process for welcoming people into the church. Parishes were challenged to make the transition from the quiet “one on one convert instruction” to a process of conversion that the entire Christian community itself was very much committed to and continually involved in. This process would be different and unique for each parish community of course, but would hold in common elements of passing on tradition, teaching the basic beliefs of our faith while celebrating the life saving ritual of the death and resurrection of Christ in the context of the local community

St. Mary’s is among the many thousands of faith communities around the world who have taken the RCIA process very seriously. Notice again, I am not speaking of the RCIA as a program, for it is not. It is a “process” of individual growth within the Christian community. That growth mirrors the continual growth in faith that all of us experience as maturing members of the Christian community.

Our parish has been very blessed over the years to welcome many people into our faith. This year Bill Grimmer and I will be joined by Don Young - a new parishioner who entered the church through the RCIA process at St. Pius Church in Cohocton, Barb Perry and Lynne Snyder. This core team, with the occasional assistance of other staff members, sponsors and guest presenters will guide the growth of our catechumens (those not yet baptized) and candidates (those who are baptized in another Christian tradition but wish to become full members of the Catholic Church). They along with hopefully several other parishioners will provide the teaching, instructing, and modeling of what it means to be members of the Catholic Church.

On Sunday, November 20 at the 9:00 a.m. Mass we witnessed the first of the Rites of Christian Initiation as we celebrated the Rite of Acceptance and Welcoming. At this Rite we welcomed five catechumens Stacey Brezinski, Don and Beverly Knowles, Bethany Perry and Stan Wraite and two candidates Jill Gaudino and Mike Warren who are in the process of joining our church in the upcoming months. Another candidate, Paula Gardner will experience the Rite of Acceptance at a later date. I invite your continued prayer and support for these men and women who wish to join our community of faith.

Please remember: it is the example of all of us that is instrumental in bringing these people to the church. Never underestimate the power and importance of a warm greeting in church or a few well chosen words of
welcome to a stranger. The Lord uses our examples our joys and our sorrows, the ups and downs of all of our lives to draw other people into our community of faith and thus closer to their salvation. Keeping this process in prayer is important for all of us. If you know someone who wishes to know more about this process, please have him or her contact me soon so they can be welcomed into the RCIA process.

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St. Mary’s Advent Reconciliation Service will be held on Sunday, December 18 at 7:00 p.m.

Our monthly Healing Mass will be held on Wednesday, December 21 at 7:00 p.m. Fr. Phil Billotte will preside.

St. Mary’s Choir and the Bells of St. Mary’s will present a Christmas Concert on Thursday, December 22 at 7:00 p.m. Please plan to attend and enjoy an evening of beautiful music to celebrate the season. A peaceful break from all the holiday activity could be just what you need .

Mark your calendars for our 2nd annual New Year’s Eve Dinner Dance in O’Malley Hall. The gala evening includes Hors d’Oeuvres, a Buffet Dinner, Champagne Toast at Midnight, dance music by Bob Ainsworth and much more.
The cost is $25 per person and reservations are required. Tickets now available. Call 776-3327.

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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