We had our last Pastoral Council meeting of the year this past Monday and the officers for the upcoming year are as Follows: Chairperson, Dan Loch; Vice Chair, Nicole Tobin and Secretary, Kristin Chuba. Our congratulations to all three of them.
The next night we had a dinner at the rectory for 30 of the many people involved in our Social Concerns ministries. Included in the group were people who work on the monthly food drive, representatives from the three funeral reception teams, teachers of English to the undocumented; CONECT core team members, soup kitchen volunteers, Midnight Run Volunteers, and the actual members of the Social Concerns committee that oversees everything. The co-leaders of this ministry are Barbara Bagnato and Rebecca Sweeney, who do so much for the parish. I speak all the time of “The Parish Twelve”. These are the key people who give themselves to the parish all year round. Actually there are many more than twelve, but the number is symbolic and Barbara and Rebecca are in that company. As long as the parish continues to have “The Parish Twelve”, we will be strong!
If you were not in Church last weekend you missed the great news. Bishop Caggiano has given the parish a great gift. On Friday June 9th, Fr. Rojin and I received identical letters. The first appointed Fr. Rojin as the pastor when I retire on May 15, 2019. The second letter gave me permission to retire at St Jerome. Both decisions, by our Bishop, fill my heart with gratitude. Bishop Caggiano recognizes that we are a great and unique parish. He wants us to keep our vibrancy while growing in new ways that will be in keeping with the culture of the parish. Fr. Rojin is faith-filled, very gifted, energetic, and so much fun. The future of the parish between Fr. Rojin and the new Pastoral Council is on solid footing. There is cause for rejoicing! I must warn you, however, that once I retire I am not going to do any work whatsoever (except wherever I am needed) and walk Murphy four times a day!
