Updates on Fr. Lambert’s Health and St. Martha Painting Progress

First of all, some of you know Fr. Lambert was out sick last weekend, and I’m happy to report he was discharged from the hospital Tuesday and is doing better. After over a year of problems in his back and fingers, and a week of feeling especially poorly, he went to Sturdy Memorial Hospital and was admitted. The medical team there was able to diagnose the root cause in his back and begin treatment (something other doctors failed to do). One doctor at the hospital said she could not believe that Fr. Lambert was able to remain active for so long with this issue with his upper spine! Fr. Lambert is glad to be home, and gave me permission to share this health information with you. He is especially grateful for your prayers, as we pray always for all our parishioners and others who are sick.

This week I am also happy to report that there is significant progress in the painting and repairs happening inside Saint Martha Parish church. As of Tuesday, when I write this, most of the ceiling has been repaired, and more than half of the main church has been painted. This includes not only the walls and ceiling, but the posts and beams, radiator covers, wood on the windows, and refinishing the window trim. The new flooring under the pews will be installed soon. While there are subtle changes in some of the colors, the most noticeable change we are making is to the west facing walls “accent walls”. This means the wall behind the altar and the walls around the statues of the Sacred Heart and St. Martha are being painted a royal shade of rose to complement the blue carpet and make the crucifix and stained glass windows stand out more. We are very pleased with this result (though we are probably going to change the statue niches back to white), and we hope you will be too!

In closing, I want to underscore the gratitude Tom Morris expressed in his update from the St. Martha Parish Finance Council last weekend. We are especially grateful for the work that Tim Pac has done as the parish Building & Grounds Keeper – not only in all the furniture he has moved and arranged for the downstairs Masses and other work, but also for his proactive approach to our physical plant needs and the many projects he does himself to save parish expenses. We are also grateful for the St. Martha Fair Committee for their patience in recent years with all the work going on in the hall, and now much of the hall being used as a worship space, as they are working hard to prepare their baskets and crafts. We are on schedule to give the fair access to most of the hall as soon as possible after the Masses next weekend, and return to worship upstairs the weekend of October 21-22. Be sure to mark your calendars to attend the Holiday Fair this November 3-4!