December 25, 2006

Dear friends in life and in ministry . . .

Merry Christmas.

Our daughter Monica arrived home from Chicago on Friday, joining Chris and Annie who live year-round here in Corning. Last weekend Annie (who will give birth to Jackson Gabriel - our first grandchild in February) and Pat went tree hunting at a local tree farm.

Tonight, the five of us (along with Annie's Golden Retriever Henry) will decorate the tree with ornaments gathered over the past 39 years. I'll have returned from the 4 p.m. Christmas Eve "Family Mass." At 8:15 p.m. we'll gather at Mount Saviour Monastery in Elmira for Compline prayer (another family tradition) before I head for Bath and our 10:30 p.m. (Midnight) Mass. Tomorrow, Pat and I will cantor the 10 a.m. Christmas Day Mass at St. Mary, Bath, then fall asleep on the couch.

There is so much to be thankful for this Christmas. The family together, the wonderful people of St. Mary's Bath, Fr. Peter Anglaaere and my parish staff, the opportunity throughout the year to officiate at family celebrations of Baptisms and Marriage, to gather with families in hospital rooms as they say good-bye to loved ones, and to honor these same loved ones with Christian burial and the celebrate God's promise to them of Eternal Life.

May I ask you to remember in prayer this Christmas Mary Kosty and Jim Dugan who, baring unexpected miracles will be spending their last few weeks and perhaps days surrounded by family and friends and also a man named Tony who I have been visiting in the Steuben County Jail. Tony experienced a very bad week due to kidney stones and feels very much alone. He is estranged from family and friends but that will change very soon.

Now, a closing blessing and thanksgiving for your friendship. This email goes to about 400 people each week as my way of keeping in touch. Some of you I know very well. Others I've met through some ministry or encounter we've shared. Regardless, I thank God for your presence in my life and ask for your prayers in the new year.

We are truly a blest people, for Emmanuel - God is with us!

Ray

P.S. I'm including again the website link below. Campbell Soup has a promotion for each city with an NFL Franchise to help their local Food Pantries. Go into the website link below and vote for the team of your choice. For each vote, Campbell's will donated a can of soup to a local soup kitchen. Its a great way to help feed the hungry - and you can visit the site daily. Take 10 seconds and click a can of soup to a local soup kitchen.

http://www.chunky.com/clickforcans.aspx

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Bulletin: December 23, 2006

Bulletin: December 25, 2006

December 25, 2006

Merry Christmas!  On behalf of our Parish Staff, I wish you all the best in this holy season of grace and peace.  This is not only a time of family celebrations and new life, but a time of reaching out to others. If you are visiting us this Christmas, we extend our warmest welcome!

It's our parishioners who make a St. Mary’s a welcoming place!  As a parish we work hard to make room for all, not just because it is a courteous thing to do, but because it is who we are!  Each week the first page of our bulletin carries our Parish Mission Statement to remind us of who we are- “A welcoming oasis of peace, love and outreach.”

As you’ve probably noticed, we’ve made some changes to our worship space over the past few months. We’ve moved our sanctuary (the altar, ambo and presider’s chair) forward and surrounded it with chairs. This has allowed our choir to join us in the assembly and allowed people to choose to literally gather around the altar. As you might expect, some love the changes while others don not.  On one thing we all agree: "This may be our Worship Space but the PEOPLE of St. Mary’s are the Church!"

Recently, Bishop J. Terry Steib of Memphis, wrote that a parish is “home, not just a building; it is also a community of faith, the gathering of the faithful, the "people of God."   In baptism, we are received into God's family.   Church is the home where that family gathers to celebrate God's unconditional love.

Throughout our lives, church is the home where we mark the pivotal moments that tell us who God is and who we are because of God's love.  We are like homing pigeons returning time and again to celebrate births and deaths, Baptisms and Marriages, Confirmations and Eucharist with God’s family. These sacramental moments are spent together in addition to our regular "family" gatherings at Sunday Mass, Faith Formation classes and Youth Group sessions, Committee meetings, parish dinners, bereavement luncheons, coffee hours and pancake breakfasts, choir and bell choir rehearsals, Lenten Retreats, RCIA sessions and so many other vital things as Christian Catholics.

A number of people are no longer comfortable in their home; some are not even certain that the Catholic Church is their home today.  Sometimes it is the circumstances of life that cause people to feel estranged or separated. Occasionally it is that an individual carries a deep pain that is rooted in some difficult situation of the past or worse, they feel that who they are is unacceptable.

We are called to BE church--God's Family to one another. In giving us this Church, God gives us a spiritual home on earth.  It is a precursor of the home we will have for all eternity.  There all walls and barriers will come down and we will dwell fully  in union with God and all God's people.  Our task while in this earthly home is to do all we can to help each other grow into the home we will share in heaven.

Christmas is often a great "homecoming" for many who have been away from Church or God.  Do you know someone who is not “at home” in our parish?  Do you know someone who has just drifted away? Someone who feels alienated or shut out?   Please tell them that we are here for them and that our parish is a “home” where they can always expect a warm welcome (and an apology if needed)!   Our Pastoral Staff is ready to assist anyone who needs our help. May we always reach out to others so they too can be at home with us!

Thursday night’s Concert by our Choir and Bell Choir was nothing short of outstanding. Saint Mary’s is truly blessed by these marvelous musical groups and by the talent and dedication of our Choral and Bell Choir Director Betty Gerych and organist Bill Grimmer.  If you were fortunate enough to receive the Choir’s new CD for Christmas, great! If not, copies are still available at the parish office and from choir members.

Have a blessed Christmas.  Serve each other well!

Deacon Ray