No Heat but lots of Heart…
What a week ! So many of us have been through the ringer, no power, no water, no gas, no heat and for many, no patience. The stress was so thick the other morning in McDonalds you could cut it with a knife The people in line for gas almost exploded when someone tried to cut in front of someone else. There was almost a fist fight. Yet many of us have experienced a lot of kindness these last few days. I had a lot of fun in the Chinese take out place on Farmington Ave Sunday night. The wait was long and the company was great. Then there was the lady who called the church and offered to take in anyone who was cold. She certainly had a generous heart.
Did you know that two High School students from St. Paul’s, Matt Welch, and John Babon spent 5 ½ hours calling or trying to call every Senior Citizen in the parish over 80 years old to check on them and see if they needed anything? Between the two of them, with the help of Barbara Rival, they made 573 calls. Their act of kindness was so unexpected that several of our senior citizens didn’t know what to say and were speechless. We put out signs reminding everyone to check on their neighbors and indeed they did. Several of our parishioners told me how they received help from their neighbors.
Maybe this storm should call us all to stop and think how dependent we really have become on the modern conveniences of this world. Wouldn’t it be great for our families to reflect a little on how they could do things better and be better prepared the next time the power goes out?
Please help if you can…..
First it was the Hurricane, now, a freak snow storm. Both of them fell on Sunday, and both of them seriously affected us financially. The hurricane flooded every building in our parish and necessitated a lot of clean up. The technicians tell us that it also contributed to the failure of our school computer server and a significant loss of essential data when the back up failed. When the lights came back on after the snow storm it completely shorted out the school’s fire alarm and possibly damaged the church lighting panel. I understand that it was simply not possible or even safe for some of you to come to church with these natural disasters but to be honest we need your help to get our budget back on track. Anything you can do will be greatly appreciated. Who knows what the winter will bring?
Last week before the storm ...
I had the grace to spend some time with my mother, as many of you know she is 87. One day we went to visit Sr. Mary Nelson OSF. She is 98. Neither of them could hear. They are both short, and simply sat next to each and held each other’s hands the whole time. Sr. Mary Nelson would say "how are you Barbara?" Then I would have to yell “how are you Barbara” then my Mom would respond "I’m fine" and I would yell to Sr. Mary Nelson “She’s fine.” You know me, I’m like a walking megaphone... They were beautiful moments, and I really appreciated having the time to be with them both.
To Sum Up Last Week..
Yes, we were put to the test, and yes, we received a lot of grace to help us get through it... God Bless You all and it’s great to be back.