ATTITUDE IS EVERYTHING!
St. Paul in Philippians 2,4
by
Fr. Richard Greene, Pastor
Either we grew up in the parish to which we now belong, or we came to it later in life, but whichever the case our parish is OUR parish! It doesn’t belong to others, to anyone else. It belongs just to US.
Which also means it’s OUR responsibility.
Beginning this weekend some of our sisters and brothers will begin sharing with us reflections about a beloved piece of our parish—the OLD church which, with the completion of our NEW church in the year 2000, became our Parish Hall.
That transition is called PARISH PROGRESS.
PROGRESS, though, sometimes brings NEW CHALLENGES. Not challenges bigger than us and which can’t be met. Instead, challenges which responsible people successfully address, evaluate and solve.
Today’s challenge facing us is this: Something OLDER at Sacred Heart needs RENOVATING.
The simple question is: Do we do it now or put it off until later?
Parishioners who were here before I arrived in 2007 inform me that the original planning stage for constructing our new church also included the simultaneous renovation of the old church to turn it into a Parish Hall which would be much more useful (especially by expanding and improving the restrooms and upgrading the kitchen) and attractive (by bringing the exterior into harmony with the new church’s architecture).
However, the cost for the new church increased and therefore renovation of the Parish Hall was placed on the back burner. So what major events have occurred since then to bring up the question again?
First, we have paid off our entire debt for the new church years head of schedule, thanks to all of our parishioners’ wonderful generosity of some $5,000,0000 over the last decade, and thanks to an out-of-town non-parishioner family’s wonderful generosity of an almost $400,000 anonymous donation last year.
Secondly, behind the scenes in parish life various groups of parishioners have been meeting since last November to discuss the question I posed above: Is NOW the time to take the Parish Hall Renovation Project OFF the back burner, put it ON the front burner, and DO what needs to be done?
Thirdly, because that crucial question can’t be satisfied by a “hit or miss” answer, and because our Parish Pastoral Council recommended that a firm be hired to help us arrive at a responsible answer, Sacred Heart recently hired an experienced firm represented by New Iberia native Bernard DuMond to do just that.
Consequently, this weekend parishioners on our “Public Relations and Communications Subcommittee” are speaking at all Eucharists with two goals: 1) to acquaint you with how the hall’s renovation will greatly enhance parish life, and 2) to distribute handouts inviting—urging!—you to attend upcoming “Listening Sessions” on the renovation’s feasibility. The results of those sessions will help parish leaders recommend to me whether such a Parish Hall Renovation is feasible at this time. If YES, we continue to progress. If NO, we put progress on hold.
It is most important that YOU attend these Listening Sessions! Please, please, please join us!
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…Plus a Joke – But is GOD laughing?
Perceptive wife to husband as he pulls out his wallet to pay the restaurant’s bill: “So how is it that waitresses get 15% but God gets only 10%?”
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Until next week: How y’all doin’ today?
Good! Me, too! Remember, at our upcoming Listening Sessions…ATTITUDE IS EVERYTHING!