Appreciation Dinner

Each year the St. Francis Council Knights of Columbus hosts a clergy appreciation dinner for myself and our Deacon Joe McKenna. This years dinner took place last night at the Kings Contrivence restaurant and as always it was a wonderful evening. Our Grand Knight Richard Tucci in his remarks was most kind to myself and Deacon Joe.

While this dinner is given to show their appreciation for their pastor I am the one who is most appreciative for the Knights and the Ladies of Hope. These two organizations give countless hours of service to our parish and without them the parish would not be the same. They are always ready and willing to help no matter what is asked of them and for that I am most thankful.

I encourage all the men of the parish to consider joining the Knights of Columbus and I encourage the women of the parish to join the Ladies of Hope. Information about joining can be found on the information table in the gathering space.

ALL SOULS DAY

Monday November 2 is All Souls Day a feast dating back to around 998 when the Benedictine monastery of Cluny began celebrating a feast to remember all of their dead monks. The practice of rembember in the faithful departed continued to grow and is today one of the most treasured feasts in the church. This week when you come to mass you will find The Book of the Names of the Dead prominently displayed in front of the ambo. You are invited to write the names of the departed you would like remembered in masses celebrated throughout the month of November. May the souls of all the faithful departed through the mercy of God rest in peace.

H1N1 Flu Vaccine

Last weekend I announced that we would have the flu vaccine available here at the parish on November 15th. Tracey received a call this morning saying that the date has to be pushed back to November 22nd. We will keep you informed I recommend that you check the bulletin for updates as well as here.

A Few Glitches

Well, out new web site is up and running but as we expected there are a few glitches. It seems like the more high tech we become the more problems we encounter. At times like this we all need to pracitce the virture of patience. We are working on the glitches and will get them fixed as soon as possible.

Teaching Mass

On Tuesday October 27th I will celebrate a "teaching mass" for our religious educations students their parents and any parishioners that would like to attend. A "teaching mass" gives me the opportunity to explain the different parts of the mass and why we do what we do at mass. The mass will begin at 5pm and will last about an hour. I hope you will join us.

If you are reading this blog you have obviously found our new web site. I hope you will spend some time exploring the new site and all the great features it has to offer. Let me know what you think of the new site.

Pastoral Council

The Pastoral Council welcomed three new members at their meeting last night. New members are Dave Everett, Louise Smith and Sally Yates. I welcome them to the council and I am thankful for their willingness to serve the parish as council members. Also at their meeting the council elected Bob Reeves as Chair, John Roach as Vice-Chair, Barb Costa as Recording Secretary and Diane Padden as Corresponding Secretary. If you have questions, comments or suggestions you would like to share with a council member you are are encouraged to do so they can be identified by the blue and white name tag they wear.