February 15, 2009

Dear friends in life and in ministry . . .

Before Pat and I settle into our Sunday night TV ritual (Amazing Race, Desperate Housewives and - for her at least - Brothers and Sisters) I'll get my weekly email ritual completed and sent.

In addition to my column, I'm attaching the homily presented to the folks at St. Mary's and St. Gabriel's this weekend.

Lands of the Bible Cruise Informational Meetings Pat and I are preparing for our marathon of Informational meetings for potential "Lands of the Bible Cruise" pilgrims. If you are in the area, I hope that you'll join us at one of these meetings. If not, we'd love to speak with you personally by phone or email.

Saturday, February 21, 1:30 p.m. at St. Mary's, O'Malley Hall in Bath
Sunday, February 22, 1:30 p.m. at the Corning Public Library's Small Meeting Room in Corning
Monday, February 23, 7:00 p.m. at St. Joseph's Hospital's Cusick Meeting Room in Elmira

You can RSVP or get immediate information by contacting us by email or telephone (607-426-1100).

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

February 15, 2009 - Proud Moments

Last Saturday’s joint meeting of the CSCP Implementation Committee and the five Parish Pastoral Councils/Forums was a day of special pride for me.

I was proud of this parish and the ability of our parishioners to step forward in times of special need with optimism and faith.

I was proud when members of our Parish Council recognized that - as the larger of the two parishes that will be effected by clustering, St. Mary’s must be keenly sensitive to the needs and feelings of others and be very flexible in sharing in our fair portion of any changes that may result from a clustering relationship with St. Gabriel’s.

I was proud of the people representing St. Gabriel’s Forum and their pastoral leader Maureen O’Neil for putting their own desire to keep the status quo and recognizing that by working together we can insure the future of both faith communities.

I was proud of the progress made throughout our region by members of the CSCP Planning Group and Implementation Committee. Five years ago, I would not have thought it possible for some members to approach the planning process with confidence that our work was indeed significant and our future was not predetermined by the Diocesan Pastoral Center.

I was proud that our parishioners have so far been positive about the news that we and the parishioners of St. Gabriel’s are already one in faith and have approached this transition with faith in the work of the Holy Spirit.

Lastly, I was proud of the generous service of:

· Mary Faucett who prepared and served a wonderful continental breakfast and lunch to our 45 guests;

· Paula Gardner, our full-time office volunteer who facilitated the printing of the joint statement so that people throughout the five CSCP parishes could get the news immediately and at the same time. And,

· Our CSCP Representatives Al Hanning, Barbara Perry and Betty Langendorfer and former CSCP rep Paul Wolfe whose leadership, vision and willingness to serve will impact the Catholics of our region for years to come.

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!

(Click Here For Sent To Serve Archives)

Bulletin: February 15, 2009

Only Skin Deep February 15, 2009