A Sad Farewell
As you can see from the insert in the bulletin, Fr. Peter has been transferred as of July 9th. He will be teaching High School in Baltimore. This parish will always have a unique relationship with Fr. Peter. He came here as a friar in formation. He was ordained and served his Diaconate year here and none of us can forget the parish-wide celebration of his ordination. It was a beautiful day for Fr. Peter, his family, the friars and the whole parish.
Fr. Peter and Lisa Crenella have directed our army of Altar Servers. He has been involved in our Youth Group with Sal Biase, our Youth Minister. He has led morning prayers in our school and visited several classes on a weekly basis. He also developed and coordinated our Adult faith formation program, Build up Faith.
Next weekend after every Mass, there will be a chance to say goodbye to Fr. Peter and wish him well. There will be hors d’oeuvres after the 4 PM Saturday Mass and Coffee and Donuts after all the Masses on Sunday. I hope all of us will be able to take a few moments after Mass to thank Fr. Peter for his good work here at St. Paul Church.
The Place Looks Great
I have to compliment Bill and Gabriel, his assistant, for their work around our parish campus. They’ve painted in the Parish Center and the Church parking lot entrance. They have cleaned up and mulched all the flower beds. They’ve also done a lot outside to make our property look beautiful. When I drove in last week, I was happy to see how good everything looked. We all owe them a debt of gratitude for their hard work.
Flowers Flowers Everywhere
While I was gone, a group of parishioners agreed to do the gardening. This is no small task, as we have 8 flower beds to plant and maintain. Every year it takes me almost two weeks to weed and plant everything. I noticed that they even increased the number of perennials this year so we won’t have to keep buying annuals to fill up the beds. Garden volunteers, thank you for your hard work and sacrifice. Your efforts will make all of our summers just a little more beautiful.
KGS KGS KGS KGS KGS
As I sit in the friary living room here at 6:00 in the morning, I can hear the wrecking crew getting ready to tear down Jean Hooker High School and the Kensington Grammar School. I’m sure there is a little sadness in everyones hearts to see the first town-wide school crumble. There were so many memories created in those buildings. Sadly, we all know they were just too far gone and contaminated to be saved.
I am happy to announce that the Manafort Brothers have informed me that they were able to save the two drinking fountains and tile reliefs with very minimal damage. The Berlin Historical Society has requested the tile and we will be happy to give both reliefs to them to use as they see fit. I’m told some kind of waiver can be signed releasing the parish from any liability. There may be some asbestos in the plaster supporting the tile relief. Once the waiver is signed it is my hope that the Historical Society can come by and pick them up. The Manafort Brothers have also promised me that they will try to save the cornerstones and some other elements for the historical society.
The Berlin Historical Society is also organizing an event to share some KGS memories and memorabilia. I hope that all of us can get behind this great idea and support the event. (See article, in this week's bulletin)
Religious Ed Program Update
To date, the majority of students are registered. The deadline of June 14th for choice of classes has passed, so space is limited. If you feel called to help in any capacity from subbing to teaching, we have openings in select grades. Our Religious Ed Office is closed in July. Visit our web to volunteer. Click for Rel. Ed Page