Notes from Fr. Craig on the Second Sunday in Ordinary Time January 15, 2012
A look back to the special events this past Advent, Christmas and Epiphany at Saint Mary of the Lake.
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I performed a special Advent mini-organ recital on our new Digital Allen Organ on the Second Sunday of Advent in the late afternoon with Evening Prayer. This event was open to entire parish. A Christmas House Walk through the rectory with refreshments followed the program. This program was well received with a very nice attendance of over sixty people.
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On the Third Sunday of Advent, I held the Second Annual Parish Council Advent-Christmas Gathering that also included parish council members’ spouses. A very nice time was had by all.
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On Tuesday, December 13th, I hosted the Second Annual Teachers’ Appreciation Christmas Partyi in the rectory that also included part-time, volunteer and substitute teachers of St. Mary of the Lake School. The Christmas caroling around the piano was a big highlight and all had a great time.
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On the Fourth Sunday of Advent we were blessed to have a number of youth come and tell about their awesome experiences at World Youth Day 2011 in Madrid, Spain last August. All who attended were greatly inspired by these young people and their commitment to Christ and His Church. A pizza party was held afterwards in the rectory. A special thanks to religious education teachers, Dan and Therese Cortese and Rita Cochran, parish council member for making this event possible.
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A wonderful Christmas Pageant was performed by our students at St. Mary of the Lake School on Monday, December 19th with a fantastic reception following. The event was very well attended and a great testimony to our identity as a Catholic School. All the grade levels participated in the pageant and reception making it a true all-school event. A special thanks to Karen Oselka, Megan Barickman, Jessica Notorangelo and our wonderful new principal, Mrs. Kate VanPelt. I also want to thank Mrs. Kate VanPelt for handling so well a very difficult situation that resulted from a basketball game on December 13th.
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The Christmas Masses were very well attended but especially notable was the attendance of over 430 people at the early 4:30 p.m. Vigil Mass of Christmas Eve. This Mass featured mostly families with young children. We also enjoyed a good attendance of close to 200 people at the 11:00 p.m. Mass with beautiful pre-service music performed by our choir under the direction of Mr. Greg Geyer. Once again, I thank Greg and our choir for their inspiring offerings of music throughout Advent, Christmas and Epiphany. We consolidated Christmas Day this year with one Mass at 10:00 a.m. which also had a nice attendance of about 160 people. Our beautiful renovated church was even more inspiring with the way Rita and Jennifer Cochran and their crew decorated it. I thank all of the many volunteers who worked so hard with Rita and Jennifer to make our newly renovated church especially beautiful this past Christmas. I heard so many wonderful remarks and compliments from those who saw our renovated church for the first time.
- We concluded our Christmas festivities on the great Feast of the Epiphany last Sunday, January 8th. The beautiful sunny weather almost made you feel like you were in the south. I celebrated Solemn Vespers with a nice small gathering in the late afternoon which included the blessing of Christmas cards, a tradition that I have now started at St. Mary of the Lake.
A look forward: New Year 2012
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January and February are the slow months here at SML. Our attendance does seem to take a dip as well as our offertory collections. This is somewhat unfortunate because some of our biggest bills arrive in January and February. I am thankful for the generosity of so many at our parish and I do ask those who travel south for the winter not to forget about supporting the financial life of our parish. Ash Wednesday is February 22nd this year. Our attendance usually starts to pick up slightly and gradually increases towards Easter. I also understand that severe weather conditions may prevent some of our parishioners from making it to Mass at this time of year.
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I will be offering a course to all interested called RCIA for Catholics. I will begin this once-a-week, one-hour course on Tuesday evenings following the 6:30 p.m. Mass. This course is designed to help faithful or returning Catholics to better understand, appreciate and love the teachings of our Church. We will use YOUCAT as our main source text as well as the Bible and the Catechism of the Catholic Church. I ask that you call the office if you are interested so we may order enough copies of YOUCAT. There is no cost for the course however, I ask that those who are able please donate $20 to cover the cost of the YOUCAT. (Financial assistance for this is available, please do not let this cost discourage your participation!) Please contact the office ASAP.
- We will have Dr. Roger Nyquist, renowned organist from Sacramento, CA. come to formally dedicate our new Allen Digital Organ with a full recital on Sunday April 29th at 4:00 p.m.
I wish you all a Blessed and Happy New Year. I ask you to pray with me this vocation prayer as you look at your calendar. The prayer can be found on the top of your 2012 St. Mary of the Lake Calendar for January.
Loving God, Creator of the universe, you have gifted me with life. You call me to be a light to the world through baptism. Help me to brighten our world by sharing my gifts in the service of others and respecting creation. I ask this in the name of your Son, Jesus Christ. Amen.
In His Love,
Fr. Craig
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