6th Sunday in Ordinary Time - February 16, 2020
Dear Friends in Christ:
2019 Annual Report…This weekend I am pleased to present to you the 2019 Annual Report for Saint Bridget of Sweden Parish and to provide you with a highlight booklet at the ends of your pews (or on the yellow table at Saint Thomas Becket) for you to take home and read. I really do hope you will take the time to read through one of these booklets as doing so will help you to see how God is really at work in the midst of our parish family!
I will share some highlights with you at the Masses this weekend, but I would like to make a couple of significant comments at this time as well.
I think it is safe to say that the calendar year of 2019 was a year of blessings for our parish family in many different ways, some of which will be clear in the printed pages of the Annual Report, others which are known only to God.
As I reflect back on 2019, I am most grateful to the Parish Trustees, the Parish Finance Council, and the Parish Pastoral Council for their extraordinary and invaluable advice, counsel, and support. Whether it is in meetings, on conference calls, or just after Mass on the weekend, the members of these councils are ever willing to assist in making sure we remain a vibrant presence of the Catholic faith in Cheshire. They are dedicated to their respective roles in helping to build up our family of faith.
A special word of gratitude to our Trustees, Candy Nesbit and Mark Izzo, who were amazing in their availability and support throughout the process of selling the Epiphany Church and property. I could not have done it without them. I learned so much from them throughout this process and for that I am beyond grateful. The questions, the waiting, the back-and-forth of selling real estate is really not something I was ordained for but with their guidance, support, and counsel we got through the process.
As I often quote at this time of year, in the document Communities of Salt and Light by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, it says “parishes are communities of faith, of action, and of hope. They are where the Gospel is proclaimed and celebrated, where believers are formed and sent to renew the earth. Parishes are the home of the Christian community; they are the heart of our Church.”