Fr. Simon's Letter - March 20, 2022

We are almost halfway through Lent and some of us might be saying to ourselves ‘Halfway! I can do this’ or some of us might be thinking ‘Halfway! Perhaps I could cheat a bit’ or some of us may find ourselves at the starting point, thinking ‘I really need to do the things I promised I would do this Lent.’ Wherever we find ourselves at this point in Lent, we must remember that God meets us wherever we are on the journey.

The story of Moses’ encounter with God from the burning bush, that we hear this week, reminds us that even though we are not where we should be on the journey of discipleship, God is willing to adapt and be accommodating to us. Moses has fled the fury of Pharaoh of Egypt and has settled down to what was considered to be a ‘normal’ life for an adult male of his time.  Moses was not where he should have been. God rescues and invites him to live up to his calling. We can use this time in Lent to strengthen our resolve to be attuned to the call of the Holy One. 

On Friday March 11, our parish business manager, Jerry Farrell was called to our eternal home. A faithful and dedicated steward of Queen of All Saints for fifteen years, Jerry served the parish under leadership of three pastors, Monsignor Prist, Monsignor Pollard, and now me. Among his many day-to-day responsibilities for the maintenance, upkeep and financial stability of our parish buildings, grounds and ministerial efforts, Jerry was an invaluable part of the team that guided the parish through several capital improvement projects including the recently completed building phase of the ‘From Generation to Generation’ campaign. Jerry worked tirelessly, yet with effortless ease through negotiations with contractors and dealings with vendors, all the while never losing perspective of a project and most importantly, the pastoral goal of a project. He will be deeply missed by the staff, members of the finance council, parishioners and most of all, his family. As we keep his family in our prayers, we also pray that Jerry will find eternal rest in God’s loving embrace. May he rest in peace.

Finally, as our United Parish Program moves into the next gear, we will have the opportunity to join family, friends and parishioners at Stefani Prime next weekend. There is a brunch on Saturday, March 26 (children are welcome) and a dinner on Monday, March 28. Please make your reservations to celebrate a birthday, anniversary, friendship or long-awaited get-together. I also encourage you to turn in your raffle tickets sooner than later so that you are eligible for the next early-bird drawing on Friday, March 25. We are inching closer toward our goal of 3500 tickets sold and if you help us achieve our goal, another prize of 2500 dollars will be added, giving you yet another chance to be one of this year’s winners! So, there is every reason to buy your tickets early and often.

Finally, I want to express my gratitude for your generosity this weekend towards our collection in support of the people of Ukraine. THANK YOU!!

Blessings!!