Your Greatest Gifts Need No Wrapping

Your Greatest Gifts Need No Wrapping
 

Everything in this life is ultimately a gift from God, so our gratitude always starts with Him - especially for the gift of His Son Jesus. From time to time, though, people need to be reminded of how much you are appreci-ated by others and how you are making a difference in our parish families. Your faith, prayers, and participation in the life of St. Martha Parish and St. Mary Parish help strengthen my faith and countless people around you! When we gather to worship at Christmas and week after week, we are reminded of God's love for each of us, and that we are united in faith with the communities of our collaborative and the whole Catholic family. You are a tangible sign of Christ and his body the Church to each of us around you, and community is a key part of vibrant parishes!

As we said verbally at Masses on Christmas, Fr. Bill and I want to express our appreciation for all those parishioners who contribute to our Christmas celebrations and the ministry of our parishes throughout the year. Most importantly, we thank all parishioners who graciously welcomed the influx of worshippers and provided the critical ministry of hospitality, making our churches places people know they will not be judged but included in the community of the faithful. The music ministries help us raise our voices and hearts to God in song, guided by the leadership of Anne DiSanto and Jeff Johnson at St. Martha and A.J. Hoy at St. Mary. The art & environment teams, together with our building & grounds person at each parish, make our churches beautiful and festive with the joy of the season (despite this year’s challenges of an ice storm and Christmas Eve being on Sunday)! Those who donated toward Christmas flowers allowed us to decorate God's house fittingly with living creations of God; the list of donors and those they honored is published in a binder in each church (copies can be taken or requested from your parish office). Those who participated in the giving tree at St. Mary and the gift tags at St. Martha provided many gifts for area families who would have had little this Christmas, and continued our St. Martha custom of showing our love and appreciation to active and retired Religious Sisters in our community.

The altar servers, lectors, ushers and ex-traordinary-ministers of Communion enrich our liturgy as they serve with dedication at the tables of God's Word and of the Eucharist each week. The Lewicki family at St. Martha and the Anderson family at St. Mary continue their abundant gener-osity in plowing and sanding our properties at no cost to our parishes, while Rich Hender & Scott Leary (and parishioners who assist them) work very hard to clear walkways & stairs at their respective churches  on top of all their regular build-ings & grounds responsibilities. Collaborative staff worked extra hard facilitating your participation and offering a compassionate ear to those who are hurting. The ministry of our deacons and priests (including Fr. Dennis and Fr. Bernie) are signs of God's promise to be with us always, and I am grateful to be among them as part of our whole Pastoral Team.

Finally, it is a sign of your dedication to your parish and our ministry together that you have contributed generously to your parish Grand Annual. Many of you also submitted an Offertory Pledge, your commitment to regular collections going forward, which provides stability for our par-ishes. Letters updating your pledges will be sent out soon, and you can change your pledge as necessary. Grand Annual packets are available by the church doors, all of which help us reach our goals.

This is true Christian Stewardship of our time, talents and treasure. In your active service at Christmas and year round, in your financial support [through the parish Grand Annual and Offertory Pledge], and in your prayerful presence at Mass - you are making a difference: strengthening our parish families!