Pastoral Message – September 11, 2022
Hey Y’all,
We’ve had a few little building issues come up in the last few weeks. Like in the Church, the audio/visual sound system design folks have had to rethink some of their original plans once we dusted off and showed them the original building plans. The building plans we’ve got are old-fashioned blue prints. The designers didn’t expect to find some beams, pipes, and ducts in the soffits where the original plans indicated so they have had to go back to the drawing board. We should be getting the final proposal from them pretty soon.
Then in the “Community Center” in Colman Hall, a long and wide crack suddenly appeared in the 42 foot long beam that is holding up the roof. We immediately called an engineer and a contractor. They came and shored up the beam, made the room “off limits” and have come up with plans to peel back the roof, bring in a crane, and replace the beam.
If you are a home owner, you know these things happen. And over time – I understand the Church was built in 1972, and the Community Center was added to Colman Hall in 1984 – things get old and begin to need a little reworking. So we’re addressing these issues as thy arise.
Now I’m telling you this because I want to be transparent about the goings-on around the parish. But I’m also writing this because the Fall is a good season to rework our prayer life. Summer vacations are over. So it’s time to get back to daily practices. I’d ask you to join in as we focus on prayer a bit more this Fall. Some of our fellow parishioners are going to be expanding our ministry of prayer. We are going to begin inviting folks to simply drop by for some prayer in the parking lot on Wednesday afternoons. We’re going to call it Parking Lot Prayer. If you or somebody you know needs some prayerful support, encouragement, or fellowship – anybody can drop by at 3:30 pm If nobody shows up, well then the volunteers are going to be praying over the intentions which are written down in the prayer notebook that is in the narthex of the Church.
The other way we’re encouraging prayer is letting the Church stay open so anybody can drop in. I know that some of the churches around are closed up due to street folks and other issues. Well, we’re going to stay open during the day. The church building should be a place of quiet and rest and consolation. We’re also going to think more about our day of adoration before the Blessed Sacrament – the last Wednesday of each month. The school kids will be spending time praying before Christ on these Wednesdays. You might consider penciling in that day on your calendar.
Finally, on this September 11th, let’s put aside any ill-feeling, opinions and politics as we pray for our Country and our American society. So much has happened in the past. Pray that God can help to rework us as a nation and people so we can live into the great potential of building up the Kingdom of God.
Blessings y’all
Fr. Reynold
