Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
As we begin a new calendar year, I would like to share some words of thanks. First, thank you to all who made our celebration of the Nativity of the Lord so beautiful. I am grateful for our beautiful Christmas pageant and all who organized and prepared for it. Our Advent Giving Tree was a wonderful opportunity to care for our neighbors in need, and it was made possible by the hard work and organization of Doug and Cathy Van Tornhout and Ray and Ramona de Castro – thank you! To our church decorating team, our schola, our servers, our readers, our ushers, and everyone who helped to make our liturgical celebrations, especially on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, so beautiful, thank you! A very special thank you to all who volunteer here at St. Pius throughout the year, whether in a liturgical role, as catechists for our students, or with helping hands to organize community events. Finally, a word of thanks to the St. Pius X Parish staff, without whom I cannot imagine caring for this community.
With the New Year, we also have some new beginnings in the Parish Office. Terri Dawes, after nearly 20 years as our parish administrative assistant, wants a little more free time and asked to move to part time as our front desk receptionist. For me, this was easy to accommodate as we get to keep Terri with us just in a different capacity! As we know, Terri is as much a part of St. Pius X as anything or anyone. She was already hard at work here when I came as a seminarian in the summer of 2006, and she has been a truly devoted servant to our parish in all the years since. Hers is often the first voice you hear when you call, the first face you see when you come into the office. She has helped countless families arrange funerals and baptisms. Over the years, Terri has answered questions about Christmas or Easter Mass for days leading up to those holidays, and always with patience and kindness. Through her hard work, Terri has kept our office well organized and has made countless behind-the-scenes things function smoothly for the good of the whole parish. I am especially grateful to Terri for being a listening ear to many of my worst ideas and a few of the good ones. Her advice is invaluable. Most importantly, Terri’s kindness and wisdom flow from a life of sincere prayer. You will continue to find her, most days, sitting in the neighborhood of the 10th Station of the Cross, for morning Mass. Thank you, Terri, for your many years of hard work and for staying on with us!
With Terri moving to the front desk, I am happy to welcome Cathy Coyle to the parish staff as our new parish administrative assistant. Cathy’s past work experience with non-profits, as well as her past work here in our religious education office where she served as an assistant, will be a great asset as our parish staff continues to grow together in service to our parish community.
With the beginning of 2023, I find myself excited about the possibilities that God wants to open up for our community in this new year. I pray that all of us here may experience His grace and mercy more intensely each day, and we may be able to cooperate with and receive those blessings with gratitude. Thank you for being part of this parish community, for your prayers, and for all the ways that you allow God to work through you. Happy New Year!
Peace,
Fr. Sam
