Dear Parishioners,

Probably the most monumental event in the life of St. Mary’s parish this year was the retirement of Diana Sanderson. Diana finished her 30^th year of service to this community. She worked for five pastors during that time. A huge number of children and young people learned about faith from her. And for the last ten years or more the Catechumens and Candidates were guided by her instruction to the celebration of Easter Sacraments.

Diana carried out an agenda of adult formation for our parish. The bulletin inserts each Sunday were chosen by her. She facilitated the yearly parish mission. The "Women at the Well" and bible study participants enjoyed her enthusiasm for life and faith as well as all the stories about her grandchildren. We are grateful to her for leadership in faith for these 30 years. She and Larry, her husband, just returned from Russia and other exciting places to celebrate retirement this Fall.

This is my fifth report to you as pastor of St. Mary’s. My first responsibility is always the spiritual life of this community. That has many dimensions, but one of the ways of measuring it is the simple recounting of the number.( Last years numbers are in the parentheses). This community now numbers 1590 (1602) families with 3997( 4172) baptized members, 4683(4712) total family members. This year we baptized 39 (56) infants and 8 (7) persons of catechetical age (youth and adults.) 69(67) were confirmed in faith by the Bishop or Pastor. 17 (7) couples pledged their lives in Christ in marriage. Parish staff has helped 9 (12) persons regularize their marriages through the ministry of the Diocesan Marriage Tribunal. 38 (37) have passed into that kingdom where all things are truly one in Christ.

Two major projects have been in process this summer. I am sorry that we are still planning to remove the trees in the front parking lot. Their roots have uprooted the sidewalk in so many places and the "trip and fall" hazard has just become too significant. The renewal the sidewalk and the rearrangement of the plantings will take a bit of time to finish. We may not get started until Spring. And the Lord of the harvest will need some time to grow the new ornamentation of the this area.

The second major project is to provide a visual link between the worship space of the Church and the Blessed Sacrament Chapel. A couple of years ago I shared with you my hope that we could do something about the secrecy of our reservation chapel. The consultation which took place about the worship space on Epiphany Sunday provided the impetus to the Parish Pastoral Council to set up a committee to prioritize the recommendations developed. This is the first step of an effort to renew our worship space visually during the next year or so.

While the sacrament will not in fact be reserved in the Church, the tabernacle will now be visible to all who come into the Church. This becomes a significant sign of our common belief in the presence of Christ in the sacrament. At the same time, the Blessed Sacrament Chapel will be renewed so that it can remain open for prayer and reflection 24/7. For thirty five years the Sacrament Chapel at St. Mary’s has been constantly open and available. I think this parish should be proud of that demonstration of faith.

The completion of the new School Library last Fall was a very important contribution to the mission of our school. Our early childhood program this past year was a tremendous success. Enrollment this year for this service to parents and families is at capacity. This summer we have completed some renewal of the bathroom facilities for this part of the school so that the increase in the number of younger children can be accommodated.

The Parish Pastoral Council studied our worship and our prayer during their Fall meetings this last year. This brought about the Epiphany Sunday consultation and the work we are doing to renew our worship space and the Blessed Sacrament Chapel. In the Spring, the Pastoral Council met with the School Advisory Council, the teachers of our school, with the parent club leadership, the development committee and the board members of the St. Mary’s Foundation. The outcome of the this year’s work can be found on the parish web site. This years edition of the Parish Pastoral Plan includes all the strategies which were approved by the Council on June 4^th.

The most significant decision of the Pastoral Council was a joint decision with the School Advisory Council which was agreed to unanimously. The Councils approved of a strategy to "support the immediate establishing of a Steering Committee to undertake a Capital Campaign to move forward with a plan to update facilities, improve the Church sound system, re-pave parking lots, retire parish debts, redo the school building envelopes (roofs, windows, drainage, insulation) in order to continue the mission of St. Mary’s Parish." The renewal of the parking lots and the school buildings are most important for the future mission of the parish. We do so much as a community. Our facilities are the tools of this work. We also need to look at expanding some storage space.

You may have noticed that some roof work has been done on the South pod of the school. Last winter these classrooms experienced regular flooding. The quick fix for this pod provided by Auction funds buys some time for us to move forward on a more comprehensive plan. You will be hearing much more about this during the Fall.

Deacon Cary, Deacon Mike and 22 other pilgrims journeyed to the Holy Land and Rome this Spring. Our adventure was a special blessing. At each of the Holy Places we prayed for all the people of St. Mary’s Parish community and for all our families.

At the end of the year Staff Retreat, I shared with the staff how thankful I am for the many ways in which the Lord has been good to me. This year was a good year for me health wise. I don’t think I even had a bad cold. I was able to visit my cousin back in Hershey twice during the year. Being an "observer" at the Summer Bishop’s meeting was an interesting "grace".

I am grateful to Father Jim, our deacons and all the staff for the faithful service they give to this community. Jeannette Benson has done a great job during her first year as Youth Minister. We are happy that Colleen McLean has joined the staff to facilitate the Adult Education and Formation ministries of our community. We have planned and scheduled for next year. I hope it will be a great year.

I hope it is my style to be completely transparent about what is going on in the parish. In that vain I must tell you that this last Spring I asked the Bishop to appoint me to some kind of "senior status" work next year. That is a indirect and fancy way of saying "retirement". Next June will mark the completion of my six year term as pastor of St. Mary’s. I will have finished 40 years of ministry as a priest and be 66 years old. I will join the pensioners in the crowd and start drawing Social Security in January. This parish needs a younger pastor. I will give you the best service I can during this year. The travel bug will capture me a couple of time I am sure. But I am committed to go out swinging. And God’s people said: " Thank God, it is swinging.... not singing!"

PS... Note that for the first time in four years, no mention of bankruptcy! Thank you for your generosity to the Settlement Campaign. This community has been so supportive of the mission! The enclosed financial report is a message of your great faith and commitment. Thank you again!