Another beautiful Finger Lakes' weekend was spent celebrating the life of parishioner Sally Fagan on Friday morning, and officiating at the marriage of her grand-daughter Suzanne Fagan to Jim Kennedy on Saturday. Patty and I were able to attend the reception at Heron Hill and danced at least an hour or two of the night away. It is good to be freed of the back problems that so agonized me this summer.

This morning I subbed for Bob and Pam Colomaio, who teach our 7th and 8th graders. Bob in an aspirant in the diaconal formation of the Diocese of Rochester. Some of you know that I was a teacher for many years. I found getting 7th and 8th graders enthusiastic was slightly harder than pulling teeth - a job I really never aspired to do.

Today's column concerns the resignation of our Faith Formation Coordinator, Catechetical Sunday and the plans we have to kick off what we are calling The Year of the Family next weekend. We'll hold a Family Mass and Picnic in our Pavilion with parish children filling many of the roles usually undertaken by adults.

Just to give you a taste of the vision of our parish council . . . Last weekend, - out of concern (aka "FEAR")that parishioners would be upset if we tinkered with their Mass routine - I reneged on the Staff's decision to cancel the 9 a.m. Parish Mass next Sunday.

The Council strongly advised me to re-cancel the 9:00 a.m. Mass because We Are Family and the Entire Parish should celebrate together at the Noon Family Mass and Picnic. Talk about Vision. I think I'm in heaven.

If you are in the area, you might want to join us for this celebration.

Blessings to all . . .

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September 18, 2005

Parish Finances Lead to Loss of Faith Formation Coordinator

If you’ve already scanned Page 1 of this bulletin, or are reading this on Sunday afternoon having already attended Mass, you know that today is Catechetical Sunday. This morning, a new series of Faith Formation classes for children in Kindergarten - High School began. But on this Catechetical
Sunday, St. Mary’s is without the services of a Faith Formation
Coordinator.

As you know, over the past year St. Mary’s has faced some very serious financial challenges. In June, it became evident that it would be necessary to make some very difficult choices if the parish was to balance its budget in the fiscal year beginning July 1st.

One of the first decisions made was to cut back on staff hours during the summer months. Our Parish Office was closed on Fridays during July and August and summer programs such as Vacation Bible school were canceled.
The last, and without doubt most difficult decision I’ve had to make was to lay-off our Faith Formation Coordinator for the summer and reduce the position from 40 hours per week to 20 hours per week beginning in September.

Regrettably, because of this cutback in hours and salary, Eileen Wayne, who
has coordinated our Religious Education and Sacramental Preparation
programs, is no longer financially able to continue in this position.

St. Mary’s has benefited from Eileen’s understanding of our Roman Catholic faith and knowledge of catechetical and liturgical trends and advances. We sincerely thank Eileen for her years of service to the Catechists and children of St. Mary’s and wish her well in her new pursuits.
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Because of the importance of having a qualified person to assist our volunteer catechists, I have prepared a job description for a Faith Formation Administrator which will be submitted to the Diocesan Human Resources office for posting. If you are interested in finding out more about this position, copies of the job description are available at the parish office.
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Even as we begin the process of recruiting a qualified person to serve as part-time administer our K-12 faith formation programs, our volunteer Catechists are ready to share their faith with our children.

During this weekend’s classes, children will meet their teachers and work on activities preparing them for next Sunday’s FAMILY MASS and Parish Picnic.
At this Special FAMILY MASS we will celebrate our parish’s Children and
Families:

· Kindergarten children will lead our Procession with banners they have
made to celebrate FAMILY
· Grades 1-2 will present the Gifts of Bread and Wine and an Altar Cloth · Grades 3-4 will proclaim the 1st and 2nd Readings, and take up the
offering.
· Grades 5-6 offer the Prayers of the Faithful · Jr. High Students will serve Mass offer a skit written to illustrate the
Gospel
· High School Students will enact the Corporal Works of Mercy during the
homily

This FAMILY MASS will kick-off what we are calling St. Mary’s Year of the Family – a full year of special activities and initiatives aimed at bringing our young families together and encouraging new families to join our parish and become active in our parish life. I pray that your family will embrace these efforts and invite friends and family members to participate in our parish life.

Because WE ARE FAMILY our only Eucharistic Celebration on Sunday, September 25th will be our PARISH FAMILY MASS AT 12 NOON IN THE PAVILION.

Have a good week. Serve one another well.

I pray that you will enjoy this visit, and if you like,
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