March 8, 2009

Dear friends in life and in ministry . . .

The last few weeks have buzzed by in a flurry of activity. In addition to my parish work and my ongoing exercise and sane eating plan to shed pounds (a total of 19 so far, Patty and I spent Sunday afternoon through Monday afternoon on the road.

My friend Sr. Diane Denny, who is pastoral administrator of the Catholic churches in Lyons, Clyde and Savanna, NY invited me to present a Lenten program of song and scriptural preaching on Sunday evening. Pat and I also took this opportunity to hold an informational meeting on our November Lands of the Bible Cruise.

We spent Sunday night in Auburn visiting our friend Karen Prave. Karen and her husband Deacon John Prave were classmates in diaconal formation and have remained close friends over the past thirty years. John passed to eternal life a few months ago.

Before heading for (believe it or not (cardio kick boxing) I wasn't to share with you a wonderful experience that I had yesterday while joining the folks at the Taylor Health Care facility (skilled nursing) for my monthly Communion/Scripture service. That special experience was the baptism of Fran Cummings, the husband of Sylvia a parishioner of mine at St. Mary's, Bath, who is currently a resident of Taylor. What a special moment to share with the good folks of the nursing home. God is so very good.

Today I ask your prayers for Rob Wilson, who at 37 has already undergone surgery for kidney, bladder and prostate cancer which has now spread to his liver. He is now under hospice care and his mom has come from Denver to be with him during his remaining days. Rob was confirmed by Bishop Clark in October.

Also pray for my office volunteer and friend Paula Gardner who is rehabing from a stoke suffered last weekend.

If my life calms down a little, I hope to be back on schedule with another edition of Sent to Serve on Sunday.

May God abundantly bless you and those you love during the holy season of Lent.

Deacon Ray

Weight Loss Challenge

Since celebrating my 65th birthday and the prospect of retirement drawing near, I’ve been thinking more and more about my personal health. I want to remain as vital in retirement as I have been in the rest of my life. But for the last ten years or so, I’ve been carrying at least 50 pounds more than I did when my life was less sedentary.

Recently, I applied for a Corning Radio stations Weight Loss Challenge and was accepted by the Corning YMCA for their three member team. For the next three months our team will compete with teams representing two other gyms to see which can lose the most weight through diet and exercise. Each team his the assistance of a personal trainer and coach to guide and encourage us.

Realizing that I am not a person of great will personal will-power, I am relying on this support to help me do what I probably could (or would) not do on my own. With my teams encouragement, I’ve taken on the challenge of a strenuous program of diet and exercise (cardio kick boxing, spinning, treadmill, weight-lifting) that will help me lose at least 50 pounds by my July 1 retirement date. I lost eleven of those pounds in my first week and frankly, feel great about it and myself.

Which leads us to another challenge . . .
Lenten Spirituality Challenge

As is our tradition, each Wednesday of Lent, you are invited to join your spiritual support team for Mass at 5:30 p.m. and a Lenten meal in O’Malley Hall. Then, at around 6:45 p.m. our “Spiritual Exercises” begin.

On Wednesday, March 4, St. Mary’s Lenten Dinner and Discussion Series will be sponsored by the Central Steuben Catholic Parishes Adult Education Committee. The presenter will be our own Fr. Jim Jaeger who will speak on the “History and Traditions of Lent.”

The remainder of our Lenten Series will help us learn to let God personally speak to us through the Scriptures. Lectio Divina, an ancient practice of prayerful meditation on the scriptures. It has been used for centuries by individuals and monastic communities and recently has found a place in the prayer of small Christian Communities.

On March 11 and 18, Deacon George and Paula Welch will teach us how to use Lectio Divina as a way of prayerfully listening to God. George and Paula practice Lectio as their own personal prayer and give presentations on the practice to clergy and parish groups throughout the Diocese. Both are skilled practitioners of contemplative prayer.

And so, I challenge you to join me and your parish support team in this Lenten Spirituality Challenge. You can do it. We can do it . . .together!

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!

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Bulletin: March 8, 2009