St. Paul thanks the Altar Servers and our Altar Servers thank St. Paul Church
Well I can no longer say it’s been thirty years since I was on a roller coaster. Last week, on the altar server trip, I braved the Flashback Roller Coaster with Mike Pavano, Matt Welch, and Patrick Duplin. Patrick was so happy, he laughed and laughed and laughed as the ride blasted off. I, on the other hand, gripped the harness with all my strength, lost my glasses out of my pocket when we were upside down and felt like I was going to lose my breakfast. The kids and chaperones had such a great time. Sal Biase, our new youth minister, was right in the thick of things and used the time to get to know a lot of our kids. Events like this only serve to strengthen the parish’s relationship with our youth and build bonds that have been lacking for years. As they arrived in the parking lot, so many of our young people took the time to thank the parish for an “awesome day”. We, in turn, have to be willing to thank our altar servers for their service at the altar... Whew... good people at the 7:00 PM Mass, you can stop praying now, we returned all the servers safe and sound to their families and no one was broken. A special thank you to Fr. Peter and Lisa and Dave Crenella, who coordinated the day’s efforts.
New Comfortable Chairs
Thanks to the Knights of Columbus and our Ladies Guild, we have brand new comfortable chairs for both the Parish Center and our School. Next week there will be racks of our old chairs for the taking by the playground entrance of the Church after Mass. We ask that you take the chairs you need, and if you are able, leave an offering for what you take (a dollar or two a chair would be fine). Any money we raise will be used to buy new chair racks. Someone will be outside at the new wing playground entrance to collect any offering you may make. Thanks again to the Knights of Columbus and the Ladies Guild for the new chairs.
Your Tax dollars at work
Every year, the Town of Berlin inspects and replaces sidewalks around town. This year, the Town focused on our neighborhood sidewalks. They have already replaced a stretch of sidewalk along the Peck Street side of the Church. They are also going to replace a few sections in front of the Church which pose trip hazards. This work is being done by the Town at no cost to us and we are most grateful.
Archdiocesan Visitation / Audit complete
As you know, last year our parish went through an extensive three day audit of all of our financial record keeping and financial procedures. Everything was found in great shape. Last week we were visited by Msgr. Plocharczyk, the Dean of the New Britain area Churches. He inspected our sacramental records, checked on our Mass Books and asked some questions about the general health of our parish. He also did a walk through of all of our parish facilities. I was grateful for the chance to bring him up to speed on some challenges we will face in the future. Msgr. Plocharczyk was very pleased and impressed with what he saw and extended his best wishes to the whole parish. He will be visiting every Catholic Church in the New Britain area in the near future.
Keep them coming
One of the best perks about being a priest in Berlin is that so many people have gardens and they are very willing to share some of their produce with us. All of us love fresh garden vegetables and last week several people dropped them off. Yesterday there was a bag of tomatoes hanging on the railing of our back steps. Needless to say, they are all gone. Thanks so much for your generosity and keep those vegetables coming.
Our School Golf Tournament is about a month or so away.
O.K. you golfers and wanna be golfers... how about signing up for our Annual School Golf Tournament? We all know that the St. Paul School depends on the generosity of many people to make ends meet. It is one of the most important ministries of our Parish. You can pick up a registration form in the Parish Center. I have also pinned some registration forms on the bulletin boards in the vestibules of the Church or you can register and pay online at either the Church or the School website: stpaulkensington.org or ourschool.stpaulkensington.org
Our newest Members
Last week we had two baptisms, and I was fortunate enough to get pictures of both children and their proud parents. I have asked Patty to put the pictures in our bulletin (see top of page 4)and on our website. I want everyone to get a glance at the newest members of our parish.
Fr. Robert