February 1, 2009

Dear friends in life and in ministry . . .

Since returning from our Cruise, I've been deluged with work projects for the parish, our regional planning group, Rotary, Health Ministryof the Southern Tier and the travel ministry that Pat and I will be involved in come November.

One of these projects is the creation of a "Parish Profile" that will be available to priests and pastoral administrators who may wish to apply for my position when I retire in June. On Saturday, I received a letter from Bishop Clark which formally accepted my retirement as of June 30, 2009. Social Security payments start in February and I've finally received my Medicare card - all of which means that as our new president has indicated - "Change is coming!." Only time will tell if retirement is a "change" that my type A personality "can believe in" and embrace.

On Monday, our grandson Jack turns two. I caution to add that we will not be celebrating "Ground Hog Day" but the "Feast of the Presentation of the Lord" on Monday - for only a Holy Day is worthy of MY SPECIAL GRANDSON's birthday.

Monica has returned from Chicago for this special event which we celebrated this afternoon with Chris and his girlfriend Audrey, Annie and her friend Adam. I suspect that Jack's "party" will have been much more riveting than the highly touted - but likely boring football game which will begin in about 10 minutes. I predict Pittsburgh by at least two touchdowns.)

As mentioned earlier, things are reving up for our Lands of the Bible Cruise which is scheduled for November. I hope that many of you are considering joining joining us on this wonderful journey. Pat and I will be holding informational meetings in Bath, Corning and Elmira on February 21, 22 and 23rd. I'll be emailing a flier with specifics later next week but you can get immediate information by personally contacting us by email or telephone (607-426-1100).

God's abundant blessings on you and those you love,

February 1, 2009 - Reflections on the Inauguration

In spite of the fact that Pat and I flew from Palm trees and 75 degree temperatures to icy snow and 10 degree temperatures in less than 3 hours - it is good to be home.

I’m grateful to Mary Carol Wall and Fr. Jim for filling this space in the bulletin over the past three weeks. I’ve kept up with Mary Carol’s articles and, as always, I found them to be incredibly spiritual and insightful. She certainly has a gift for writing and that gift is backed up by another precious gift - a strong and mature faith.

Last week’s article by Father Jim invited our children to bring their gifts forward at the offertory following the adult collection. What a great way to teach our little ones the importance of stewardship - giving back to God in gratitude and love. We’ll begin this special Children’s offertory at Mass this weekend.

As Pat and I flew home from Florida on Tuesday, January 20th, President Obama was taking his oath of office on the steps of the Capital building. (An oath he would redo with an embarrassed Chief Justice John Roberts, the next day - just in case.) Like most Americans, I understood and delighted in the special significance of this historic day and the progress made in breaking down racial barriers that had long haunted our nation. But, as a white American, I realized the special meaning of this day to those who had experienced first hand the effects of racial bigotry and hatred and had fought valiantly (and by and large non-violently) against it.

Those feelings were relayed to me by two close friends, Kenneth Anderson and Howard Piggee. In 1953, before beginning his career as a nurse anesthetist, Ken had helped to integrate a Wilmington, Delaware hospital where the head operating room nurse had publically said the “No n……. would ever set foot in her operating room.”

Much later, (1979) Ken was serving as Director of the Suffolk County Inter-religious Coalition on Housing when he awoke to find a burning cross in the front yard of his home. These and many other subtle and not at all subtle expressions of bigotry deeply effected his life.

Ken, who you know as the very gifted bass/baritone singer who has often sung here at St. Mary’s, served for many years as a regional NAACP director working diligently for justice and civil rights. His work helped pave the way for gifted African Americans like Barack and Michelle Obama to assume their rightful place in American life.

Ken spent much of inauguration day glued to the TV and calling long time companions on the journey to reminisce about what had been and what was now possible.

Later in the week I received an email from another friend, Howard Piggee. Howard, a retired Corning Incorporated executive had followed me a president of the Corning Rotary Club - the first African American to hold this post. Here is what Howard wrote to me:

The testimonies of these special friends and my own yearning for liberty and justice for all has led me to resolve to pray continually for our new president, his family, and all who might be encouraged to succeed because of this historic event.

Have a good week. Serve one another well.
Deacon Ray

Lands of the Bible Cruise

On November 11, 2009, you are invited to join Deacon Ray and Pat Defendorf and pastoral leaders from throughout the Diocese on a twelve-day Cruise to the “Lands of the Bible”.

Our itinerary includes an over-night flight to Athens where we will visit the Acropolis and the biblical city of Corinth before boarding the mv Cristal, a new 471 passenger cruise ship. We’ll dock at Port Said for a visit to Cairo (the Egyptian Museum and the Pyramids at Giza) then on to the port of Ashod in Israel. For two days we’ll visit sites in Jerusalem and Bethlehem returning to the ship each evening for dinner and overnight.

Our next port is Haifa where we’ll disembark to tour the Galilee with stops at the Mount of the Beatitudes, Tabgha (the site of the miracle of the loaves and fish), a boat ride on the Sea of Galilee and renew our baptismal vows at the Jordan River.

After a day at sea we’ll visit the Isle of Patmos where John wrote Revelations and then to Ephesus, Turkey where St. Paul established a Christian community on his first missionary journey. After a visit to Piraeus we’ll return to Athens for our return trip home.

The price of this journey of a lifetime(including roundtrip airfare, chartered cruise ship, guided shore excursions, daily breakfast, lunch and dinner while aboard ship, study guide, entrance fees and deluxe motorcoaches), starts at $2398 plus taxes, tips and fees.

Follow this link to download our itinerary:
http://www.deaconray.com/travel.htm

This cruise is expected to sell out so early reservations are very important. For more information and a brochure, please contact me by email or phone (607-426-1100).

Serve one another well!