Good Bye Sr. Ellen and Thank You
As many of you know, Sr. Ellen Shea, a part-time Pastoral Associate in our Parish and a part-time Student Advocate / Teacher in our School, will be leaving St. Paul’s effective September 1st. We want to thank Sr. Ellen for her many years of service to our parish, both in the Pastoral Office and in our school. We wish her well wherever her next step in her life takes her. God Bless You Sr. Ellen and Thank you.
What’s a pergola ?
Don’t feel bad— I didn’t know what a pergola was either. Actually, that’s what they call the structure you see next to our Church on Peck Street. The reason we now have a pergola on the side of the Church is simple. For the last several years, the snow from the roof has knocked down the white fencing that used to hide the church hall air conditioner. This year, the snow and ice barreling off the roof did $10,000 damage to the ductworks and compressor unit used to cool the church hall. The engineers tell us now with the pergola in place, the snow and ice will be defused when it falls off the roof, keeping it from causing more damage. The whole initiative was the Eagle Scout project of Joe (JP) Labadia, a Saint Paul Parishioner, and cost the parish nothing. We want to thank him, his Scout leaders and all the people, especially his parents, who assisted him on this important project. In the near future, we will be redoing the landscaping around the pergola to help it blend in.
The Army has arrived.
These past four weeks and 5 days, some of you have noticed visiting priests. That’s because just like a family, our friars flock to help each other whenever there is a need. Fr. Mark Szanyi came from Flordia for a couple of days. Fr. Thomas from Rome was here for a while, Fr. Herman came back to help out, Fr. Mark has said a couple of Masses and now Fr. Noel will be here until September 1st to help us during the week. Please welcome them and th ank them for their presence. Everyone needs a Helping Hand or maybe a Handrail. Finally, the new handrails have been installed in front of the Church. It is our hope that these new railings will make it easier and safer for our Senior Citizens to go up and down the stairs into Church. They were designed so well that they look like they’ve been their forever.
A couple of days away
To be honest, I have been concerned about the Parish Staff with all that has been going on at St. Paul’s, so I decided to take them all on a two day retreat. We are going to a retreat house near Long Island Sound. We will have a couple of working meetings and go over the calendar for the year, then we will spend some time together in prayer. Because of this, the Parish Office will be closed Monday and Tuesday, August 22nd and 23rd. I apologize in advance for any inconvenience. If you have an emergency, please call the parish number 860-828-0331 and pick the menu option for Fr. Raymond. Either he or Fr. Noel will be happy to help you.
New Families / Members (WOW)
This month we had 7 new families join our parish. I met with them last Monday at the monthly registration night hosted by our Pastoral Council. A couple of them told me that they have been coming to St. Paul Church for a while and wanted to join officially. One family spoke about how warm and welcoming our community seemed as people gathered after mass to talk or watch the kids play on the playground. It’s hard to believe, but since January 1, 2011 we have had 126 new families register in our Parish. That increased our membership by 307 people.
Pre-K in our school
The Pre-K 3 room is progressing nicely. I am very happy about this project. Even though this is the first year for our new Pre-K 3program, it is already almost filled to capacity with just a couple of places left. That is a wonderful credit to the faith that people have in St. Paul School. Keep your eyes posted. Next week I am going to ask our New Principal, Laurie Piecewicz, to write about the new things we have planned for St. Paul School this year. You are going to be so proud and excited! I know I am. God Bless you.