“If at first you don’t succeed try, try again.” I remember this wise saying from my youth. It is this montra that needs repeating as the Parish Council grappled last night with what to do about the Nayatt Day of Evangelization. Less than half of the families were home on October 29th. When we tried to update our records after all the Masses on the weekend of November 5-6 a grand total of eight (8) families responded. We left packets of material at all the homes on visitation day but few people ever acknowledged receiving the material. What’s a parish council to do? In another effort to reach out we are sending via mail the registration form with feedback questions on the back. Maybe this will get the response we are looking for.
At the meeting I shared a reflection from a talk I heard at a seminar a few years back. The speaker compared the Church to our relationship to the utility company. When Hurricane Irene hit all of a sudden we thought of National Grid. When things are normal we never think of our phones, lights and other utilities. Is this how people think of the Church? When we need you we’ll get in touch with you; otherwise you are off the radar screen. A baby is born, a job is lost, a relative sick, a love one dies, a child reaches 7 years of age – we call the Church. While I certainly hope that people call the Church at important times in their lives, I also hope that the Church can be more a part of the ordinary rhythm of people’s lives. Trying to foster good habits and practices is something I am about as your pastor. “If at first you don’t succeed…” I invite you to join me in devising strategies to make the parish a more vibrant part of people’s lives.
Fr. Bob Hawkins
Lent is upon us, and guidelines stress the solemnity of the season. That is why we do not ordinarily celebrate the joyful sacraments of Initiation (Baptism, First Eucharist, or Confirmation) or the Sacraments of Service (Matrimony or Holy Orders) during this six-week period. Decorating guidelines also remind us that we are not a department store window to be dressed and adorned, regardless of the season. During Lent even funeral flowers are removed when the Liturgy is concluded. Environment should always point to the Liturgy of the Word proclaimed at the lectern and the Liturgy of the Eucharist celebrated at the altar. This Lent we are attempting to highlight visually one symbol from each of our Sunday readings. Please notice that symbol, listen for it in the readings, and take the image home with you to practice during the week. When the dawn of Easter arrives, hopefully our hearts will burst with grace and reflect the loveliness of the flowers that once more will surround our environment. In ancient times the narthrex, or what we today call the vestibule or gathering space at the main entrance of our church, was a place for penitents and candidates for Baptism to remain until they were able to be fully catechized into the faith. Here at St. Luke’s we use our main entrance as a transition area from the pressures of the outside world into the peace of the spiritual life found in our worship. At various times in the liturgical year (notably Advent, Christmas, Lent and Easter) we try to help in this transformation with banners or flowers. As we turn our hearts more fully toward God this Lent, we hope the environment helps check out our cares and sins at the doors as we enter and enable us to go forth back into the world prepared to fast, pray, and give alms with a happy heart.
