Dear Fr. Robert, The Good Friday Service was just too long. It took the old church 12 minutes longer to reverence the cross than the new church. It was difficult for the senior citizens to stand that long. You should have used 4 crosses instead of two.
Response: Your email just goes to show that different people experience the same event differently. We have received several calls and emails telling us how moving the Good Friday Service was and how beautiful the whole Easter Triduum was.
I know that the Good Friday Service was longer than usual. The reason for the length is simple. The people in the old wing would not even approach the cross until the other person had finished venerating the cross and moved away. We hope to fix that next year by having the servers stand closer to the pews so that there will not be the long delay between people venerating the cross. The new wing people approached the cross one after another and that is why it took more people less time (12 minutes less, as you noted) to venerate the cross.
You may not know it, but we received explicit instructions from the Archdiocese to use only one cross. We broke rule with the reasoning that in reality we have two churches, so we used two crosses. I am not sure that they would ever permit 4 crosses. Thank you for sharing your concerns. I am sure you will agree we are so blessed to have such a large congregation; however, sometimes it does make things take a little longer.
Dear Fr. Robert, You should consult us before you make decisions which affect the parish. This is our parish, and many of us have lived here in Berlin all of our lives; and lest you forget, we will be here long after you’re gone or are even remembered here at St. Paul Church.
My Response: The Bishop has given me the privilege of being the Pastor of this beautiful parish. I consult regularly with the Parish Trustees, the Finance Council, the Pastoral Council, the Parish Staff and the School Board. I also consult with other ad hoc groups of parishioners, for example, the Parking Committee or the Youth Minister Search Committee. It is just not possible or feasible or practical for me to consult the parish on every decision I make.
Fr. Robert: My Grandson loves coming to Church, thanks so much for welcoming him every time you see him.
My Response: My privilege.
Fr. Robert: I don’t understand why they had a test in Religious Education this year. My daughter got so nervous.
Response: Our Religious Education Program is one of the most important things that we do here at St. Paul Church and we are blessed with a significant number of young people who attend. The Pre-test and the post tests were simply tools to let us know how well we are serving our young people’s needs. Everyone of our grades showed improvement between the pre-test and the post-test, but there is certainly room for improvement.
Fr. Robert: I don’t believe we have a parking problem here at St. Paul. Why are you over-reacting?
Response: We have 149 spaces in our lots and use 50+ spaces in the Kensington Grammar School lot and 40 spaces on Alling St. On some regular Sundays this is simply not enough. Many people complain about the parking and several told me that they just drive on when they can’t find a spot. If you do the math, we will be losing ¼ of our parking spaces when the KGS development goes through. I don’t think simply saying we don’t have a problem can change the number.
Fr. Robert: Thanks so much for the Easter Egg Hunt.
Response: Don’t thank me, thank the great members of the Family Life Committee who ran it. The kids seemed to love it and so did I.
Fr. Robert: I don’t think it is fair. I have been a parishioner here for many years and my Grandson cannot get a place in the Pre-K program. The woman said it was filled.
Response: I don’t really get involved with our school admissions. There are very capable people in our school’s administration. Yes, from what I’ve been told the Pre-K program is filled to capacity. We have to offer our spaces on a first come first enrolled basis. There is no other fair way to admit students. I’m sorry your Grandson was unable to enroll. Just in case someone is interested, I believe there are a few spaces left in Kindergarten.
From March:
Question: Hey Fr. Robert what's on that pizza ?
(Bella's Pizza the second Friday of lent 6:00 PM.)
My Reponse: What's on yours ?
( Hmm why does pepperoni always look so good on on Fridays during Lent. Thank God I ordered a veggie special and a cheese and mushroom.)
Question: Fr. Robert why do you get to celebrate wacky hair day every day ? Your hair is always messed up.
(From a Pre-K 3 Student on Wacky Hair Day)
My Response: I guess some people are just made to look like an unmade bed and I'm one of them.
Question: Fr. Robert I'm getting frustrated, my son never says he's sorry no matter what.
My Response: When is the last time you said you're sorry to him.?
Question: Fr. Robert I don't go to confession because I can't think of any sins to confess.
My Response: What's your secret?
Question: Fr. Robert It's 8:00 am on Saturday morning and the Church is still locked. Come on, open up!