EXHALTATION OF THE HOLY CROSS
September 14, 2003

With school back in session it generally means one thing……...beautiful, warm days with lots of sunshine! And through it all our students and teachers at Bishop McDowell continue making the best of it, enjoying the weather while they can while studying hard and taking tests and lots of quizzes. Bishop McDowell will be here this Tuesday morning for the opening mass of the school year. You are invited to stop in and join us for this beginning celebration.

A lot of hard work in getting our school ready for the school year was accomplished by George, our parish full-time maintenance person, and the two part-time school maintenance persons, David and Phil. A great effort went into getting the school ready for our teachers and students. THEN…they had to respond to a crisis once the school opened: removing all of the carpeting in the kindergarten classroom and replacing it with a tile floor. All of this while still doing their best at maintaining their other duties in the church and in getting ready for the open house for parents this past Tuesday. Hopefully now we can get back to “normal”?????

Our first youth ministry gathering in several years was held last Sunday evening. About 18 youth attended and had a lot of fun playing basketball, volleyball and other activities while sharing ideas for future events in addition to the ones already planned. Two events are coming up real quick: 1) the World Youth Day Cruise, sponsored by the diocesan Department for Youth and Young Adult Ministry, sets sail on the 3 Rivers on Sunday November 2; 2) a bus trip to the Holocaust Museum in Washington, D.C. on Wednesday, October 22 with several other youth ministry programs. Both are great outings in their own way. Youth Ministry is about variety. It is NOT the same-old-same-old. Give Angela a call or email her for more information, especially if you did not receive a newsletter in the mail from her.

This coming Saturday evening is our FIRST EVER gathering for our middle school students in grades 6-8. There is more information elsewhere in this bulletin for these youth. These youth programs are truly OUR PARISH’S INVESTMENT IN OUR FUTURE. Please encourage your children...our children...to become a part of their parish through the variety of opportunities Angela is presenting through these programs.

You never know what comes in the mail these days. We recently received another check in the amount of $1,000 from a person in the state of Nebraska. It was sent “To Whom it May Concern” and we are not sure of our connection with them. I have sent them a letter of gratitude on yours and my behalf. And I was talking about expecting miracles last Sunday! You never know what kind of a miracle you will get. We must always be ready to receive what ever grace God sends our way. I can assure this is one of thousands of graces with which God has blessed our parish.

You will notice a new monthly feature in our bulletin beginning this week, “Growing in Faith.” It is quite interesting and a very quick read with many different ideas on living and celebrating our faith. Enjoy this monthly insert for yourself and share your insights with your family and friends. Throughout the year there will also be entire issues with topics such as “Why Do Catholics Do That?” and “Finding the Joy in Daily Prayer.”

Surrounded by God’s grace we continue to be...