Dear Beloved Parishioners,
We are 4 days out from our Annual Day of Service. Thanks to all whom have already registered. I went from being slightly nervous – can we get everything done that we need to with the number of people who have signed up so far, to being very comforted – as more volunteers and school families have registered over the weekend. And it is not too late. You can register online at this link:
https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10c0d49a8ae28abfec61-dayofservice
So, a few things about the day.
- Bring your own tools and implements of destruction and construction, CLEARLY MARKED with your NAME, (presuming you want them back) for the day.We have some rakes and shovels, but not nearly enough.
- There will be a sign-in tent, more or less right in front of the Church steps, for you to grab a name tag, and be brought up to speed on where we are at with the various activities that need to be done.There will be water there and some cups.But in the interest of sustainability – bring your CLEARLY MARKED WATER BOTTLES which you can refill at will during the course of the day.
- We will gather at 11:45 in front of the church for an opening prayer, a few remarks, and then off to work.This year, unlike other years, we currently have more volunteers for the 2-4pm time slot that the 12-2pm time.So, we may be a bit slower out of the gate getting projects done, but we will get them done!
- You are welcome to stay for Mass at 5pm – or run home and grab a quick shower – bring your own chairs and beverages for the ‘after party’ food truck after the 5pm Mass. Please note, there is only ONE FOOD TRUCK – Lily’s Café – but they serve both main meals and desserts and they are pretty quick in their service… Here is the menu…
- If you cannot volunteer for whatever reason, but want to make a difference, we are collecting items for Good Shepherd Children and Family Services.
- Washcloths/Towels
- Diapers
- Ponchos
- School supplies
- Toiletries
- Children’s sock
- Kids pant belts
- Children’s storybooks
- Kids/Teens size underwear
Or you can donate a yard of fleece for the Kid’s corner where they are going to be making fleece blankets for Children’s hospital. Bring any item you wish to donate to the gym on Saturday.
See ya on Saturday. (and if you can’t volunteer, then just come and join the after party on the upper parking lot. It is always good to be around good people!!!)
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And since I did not have a weekend missive this past weekend, here is the DEEPER DIVE into the Sunday Scriptures…
WHAT WE BRING TO THE FIRE
April 22, 2022 • Colleen Jurkiewicz Dorman
For Sunday, May 1, 2022 3rd Sunday of Easter
Jesus said to them, “Bring some of the fish you just caught.” So Simon Peter went over and dragged the net ashore, full of one hundred fifty-three large fish. – John 21:10-11
One of the stories that has earned the place of legend in my family lore is “The Time Colleen Made the Johnnycakes.”
A Johnnycake, if you don’t know, is a thin cornmeal pancake apparently popular during colonial times, and it was the recipe I selected from my American Girl doll cookbook when I was so young I could barely read correctly, but nevertheless decided I was going to bake something on my own.
My mother was kind enough to let me, but in the chaos of a kitchen full of children fumbling with measuring spoons and seeing who could talk the loudest, she was too distracted to realize that I had mistaken the abbreviation “tsp” to mean “cup.” Thus, I had decided that the “¾ tsp salt” required by the recipe indicated that I was to put three to four cups of salt into the batter.
Those Johnnycakes were literally painful to eat. We spit them out into the sink and rinsed our mouths with cold water. When we finally realized exactly what my mistake had been, we all had a good laugh, and my mother had a big mess. I’ll tell you what, though: after that, I knew what the abbreviation “tsp” meant.
I think of the Johnnycakes every time my children ask to help me with a grown-up task. When a child offers his help, it’s so tempting to brush him off and tell him to go occupy himself with the work of a child and leave the work of an adult to someone who can do it properly.
But then I remember that, when he already had a fine meal cooking, Jesus invited his disciples to bring their fish to the fire.
God does not really need anything from us, does he? We do not have the ability to add to His glory, His power, His perfection or His joy. We can’t really help.
But he created us, as the Catechism says so beautifully, out of His “sheer goodness,” as a parent conceives a child, “to make him share in his own blessed life.” So here we are, with our dead, smelly fish. And any parent will know that accepting the offering of a child is a gift to the child more than it is a help to the parent. It gives him honor. It gives him purpose. It gives him pride. It gives him knowledge.
So, what does God do, time and time again? He doesn’t just allow us to drag our dead fish to his already blazing fire — he tells us to. He accepts our offering — our good works, our suffering, our praise, our love. He accepts everything we have to give, and then He sits with us, and He gives us a job to do. And for just a moment, he lets us in on the glorious mystery of the love of an omnipotent God — the happiness He allows us to give Him, happiness He did not need and can thrive without.
No, the work will never be done more quickly or proficiently with the help of the child. The dishwasher will need to be clandestinely reloaded after he runs off to play. The dust rag will be oversaturated with water, wreaking havoc on the furniture finish if you don’t intercept it and wring it out. Best-case scenario, the recipe will have a little too much flour in it, worst-case scenario, it’ll be totally inedible and you’ll find yourself out of salt.
But the point of letting the child help is no more to expedite the work than the point of life is having a clean house. A change occurs inside of him when he is allowed to participate in the family mission. Little seedling feelings of responsibility and fulfillment begin to take root.
For just a moment, we let him in on the glorious mystery of parenthood — all-consuming happiness that accompanies (or does it derive from?) never-ending work — perhaps the only such work since Eden to ever really bring fulfillment.
It is a gift to him, not to us.
Colleen Jurkiewicz Dorman
—–
And a little litany of Easter songs of praise and worship..
Living Hope / Because He Lives / O Praise the Name / Forever
Blessings,
Fr. Bill Kempf