Ponderings & Pontifications of the Pastor…
Hello friends!
The first words I wish to offer are an emphatic THANK YOU to all of you for your participation in my Installation as Pastor here at Blessed Sacrament! On Sunday, July 11th, we welcomed our own shepherd, Bishop Michael Fisher, as well as my own family members for the Mass of installation. Both Bishop Fisher and my family expressed to me how lucky I was to be here among you at Blessed Sacrament. My family (especially my nieces and nephews) loved the Mass and the reception afterwards! I was especially touched by the presence of so many of you who came to offer your prayers for me and for the future of the parish. From the bottom of my heart, thank you so very much!
I also wish to thank all of you for the many cards, gifts, and other expressions of “congratulations” that I received. Your generosity and kindness are deeply appreciated! I also want to thank again all those who worked so hard to make the day a special celebration. To all of you who volunteered your time and efforts to decorate, cook, and clean up, thank you very much. Once again, a special thank you to Lucy Stanton, Ken Fick, Kate Washington, and all the volunteers who gave of their time and energy. At the special celebration for Sr. Lucette’s 60th anniversary, we had a beautiful video presentation done by Kristen Kolodziejczyk. Kristen once again provided a very well-done video presentation with photos and music. These photos included pictures of my family, my time teaching in Japan, my ordination to the diaconate and priesthood, as well as my ministry at other parishes around the diocese. She also very graciously included some of my favorite church hymns as background music, and I was so happy to see the final product. Thank you so much, Kristen!
After the Mass and reception finished, I was amazed to see the wonderful photos taken by Jo Marie Dickinson. The photos were included on the parish Facebook page and showed many of the most significant moments during the Mass itself. Thank you, Jo Marie, for helping to make the day special and by keeping a wonderful record of that same day for the future!
Finally, a word of tremendous gratitude to Rosemary Ailinger and the ladies of the Altar and Rosary Society! The food at the reception was spectacular and everyone seemed to truly enjoy their time together. Just like the 60th celebration for Sr. Lucette, having an in-person, face to face reception was so very special after the many months we endured being separated from one another. Although our time away from each other was in the interest of health and safety, it was still difficult not to gather as a community together. Thank you so much, Rosemary and ladies, for everything you did to bring us together again as one parish family.
As I bring this particular bulletin article to a close, there is one final person I wish to recognize and thank for her many hours and hard work. I’m not sure if people realize how demanding it is to organize, edit, and arrange the bulletin week after week. There are so many things to add, adjust, change, or alter so that everything can be contained nicely in the format we use. For the last few years, our bulletin has been done by Mrs. Ann E. Suchyna and she has done a truly tremendous job! Ann spent many hours each week to make sure all of you, the people of Blessed Sacrament parish, were kept up to date on all the necessary events and announcements. Although she will not be able to continue with the bulletin for now, I wish to say THANK YOU to her for all her hard work! Ann, your devotion to our parish has been a major blessing, and I greatly appreciate everything you did for all of us. Thank you!
~Fr. Martin Gallagher