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5/2/21 Father Owen's Bulletin Message
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Dear Parishioners,
It takes a Village…actually it takes two towns; Chester and Long Valley to run an amazing Antioch Retreat during pandemic. Last Friday, our parishes under the auspices of the Antioch Senior Leadership team ran a very successful retreat for their younger peers. The retreat was held under a series of tents, with open air dining and safety restrictions. It was wonderful to see our new candidates make friends with young people from the Long Valley/Tewksbury/Califon area as well as Chester/Mendham/Flanders /Mount Olive area. Many of our young people expressed the desire to get closer to Christ. Fr. Nick, the pastor of St. Lawrence and I hope that we will see more and more of our young people becoming volunteers at our Sunday evening masses adding to the wonderful young people who already serve as ushers and an occasional reader. A big thank you to all the adults from both our parishes who have given and continue to give so much time and love to our youth. A big thank you also to our Antioch leaders who have given their time and a lot of love to their younger peers.
Last Saturday, we completed our First Reconciliations. We look forward to celebrating First Holy Communion on May 8th at 10 am and 12 noon and May 15th at 12 noon. Our forty-five boys and girls are excited and ready for this great day. In the meantime, we hold them in our prayers.
I previously mentioned that I would begin a new Bereavement Group session on Monday, May 3rd. However, I have to change the start date to Monday, May 17th at 7 pm in the parish office. My sincere apologies for any inconvenience in your schedule.
We were delighted to host a Scouts Campout this past weekend. It was fun to visit the boys with their dads as they did cookouts and enjoyed learning skills and talents that will last them their whole life. God bless the dads for their endurance and their willingness to sleep in tents during this chilly Spring season.
Fr. Hubert and I were happy to distribute mass intention cards for our moms both living and deceased. These masses as you are aware will be offered for all of our moms next week for Mother’s Day. Please bring back in your lists by Tuesday, May 4th so that we can publish them.
Our good friend and Grand Knight, Tony DeStefano will be moving to Florida shortly. A farewell party is to be held for him on Saturday, May 8th from 3-8 pm at Vasa Park in Hackettstown. There will be grills available for you to cook your own food. Please bring a freewill offering to help support the vets.
Happily Ever After…Several years ago, a lady called Isabel arrived with her two children from Nigeria from dire straits. The parish of St. Rose supported her and helped her to get back on her feet. She eventually got a job at a bank which helped her to provide for her two wonderful children. This beautiful woman would eventually meet one of the customers and they began to date. In time, Bill asked Isabel to marry him, and I was thrilled to be the presider at their wedding here at St. Luke last Saturday. Congratulations Bill and Isabel on your marriage and to Sean and Nicole, Isabel’s children from a previous marriage and Dan and Michael, Bill’s children from a previous marriage! Isabel and Bill have moved to Stroudsburg, PA and we look forward to preparing their children for their CCD education here at St. Luke.
Fr. Owen