May 17 & 23, 2009

Dear friends in life and in ministry . . .

began writing this at the airport in Elmira as Pat and I begin our journey to Raleigh, NC for a weekend wedding.

A highlight of last weekend was the visit by singer, songwriter and inspirational entertainer Jesse Manibusan who performed a concert at St. Mary's and joined us for the 9 a.m. Sunday Mass. Just outstanding.

My homily for last weekend included the Warm Fuzzies of Swabbydabydoo. About 30 years ago I made the story into a short musical that was performed by "Sunshine", a musical group for Junior High students that I directed at St. Mary Our Mother in Horseheads back in the mid 70s. I hadn't even thought of the story for many years until I reflected on the wonderful readings for the sixth Sunday of Easter. I'm attaching it for your enjoyment. (See attached file: The Warm Fuzzies of Swabbydabbydoo.doc)

Gotta go. Plane's boarding. Have a great Memorial Day weekend.
Deacon Ray

If you'd like to read the St. Mary's bulletins for this weekend and last weekend, you'll find them at this link.
It's long, but just CLICK HERE and you'll be there...

Deacon Ray

It's Unfair Time Again
As the summer draws nearer, thoughts of tents and food preparation and lugging tables, and all the other pleasant tasks connected with a parish air fill our minds . . . NOT! At least not this year. That’s because last year at this time we introduced St. Mary’s UNFAIR and asked our parishioners to donate $25, $50, $100, or whatever it takes to convince us not to hold a parish fair. The results were just astounding. Hundreds of folks voted with their dollars that they would rather reach for their wallets than volunteer to chair (or even work at) another parish fair. For call it what you like, a three day St. Mary’s Country Fair or a one day St. Mary’s International Food Festival - the result was a whole lot of work for a whole lot of parishioners who, by the way, also spent a whole lot of money while working their tails off.

Last year’s UNFAIR raised about $10,000 a fairly comparable amount to what we profited from a one-day Food Festival. And people seemed to enjoy the time off. So, once again this year, we’ll be sparing the lives of 300 chickens and inviting you instead to write a generous check to St. Mary’s UNFAIR. This past week all of our registered parishioners received an UNFAIR mailing. We urge you to return the attached form with your gift as soon as possible. Those who return the form with a gift of $25 or more by June 21st can will a comfortable new recliner donated by Fagan’s Furniture.

Weddings on the Road

Next weekend both Fr. Jim and I are on the road performing weddings for friends and family. Patty and I will be in Raleigh, North Carolina for the wedding of Heather Murphy a former parishioner of mine in Corning (her folks Ed and Joan have a summer home on Keuka Lake and worship at St. Gabriel’s.) Fr. Jim will travel to the Dominican Republic where he’ll officiate at the wedding of his niece. Not a bad gig huh.

In our absence we’ll be turning the pulpit over to Fr. Andrew Scioletti who will speak to about the work done by Cross International, a Catholic Outreach that brings food shelter and hope to the poorest of the poor in Haiti and other Caribbean countries as will as countries throughout Africa, Asia, and Latin America.

Fr. Jim and I are grateful to Fr. Scioletti and hope that his message inspires a generous response.

Congratulations!

Two parish young people were honored for their athletic successes last weekend. Danielle Neu ran first in her age division at the Run for the Young race in Rochester. The event raised money for diocesan youth ministries. Also representing St. Mary’s were runners Bill MacNamara and Garrison Koehler.

Cody Hutcheson received the Greater Rochester Chapter of the National Football Foundation’s Gold Scholarship Award. He is the first Bath athlete to receive the award which included a $2,000 scholarship. “It’s not just about being a great athlete. It’s about being a great asset to the community,” his coach Wayne Carroll told the Corning Leader. “And that’s Cody Hutcheson.” Cody was among four high school seniors from St. Mary’s who recently received the Diocese of Rochester’s Hands of Christ Award.

Congratulations also to Bob Colomaio who last week received his Master of Arts in Pastoral Studies degree from St. Bernard’s School of Theology and Ministry. Bob will be one of six men to be ordained to the permanent diaconate by Bishop Matthew Clark on Saturday, May 30 at Sacred Heart Cathedral. Bob’s first Mass as a deacon will be the 9:00 a.m. Mass on Sunday, May 31st here at St. Mary’s. Let’s keep Bob, Pam, Mary Catherine and Teresa in our prayers as they prepare for this important day.

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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The Warm Fuzzies of Swabbydabbydoo

Bulletin Archive