As has been their tradition for many years, the Soy House restaurant near Marine Heritage Park donated all of their Easter revenues to the parish, totaling almost $3,000 this year. Even during a pandemic that has been so hard on so many restaurants, this parish family decided they still wanted to give back to God by making this generous donation.
You may also have noticed that the newly established rectory at 2111 Ellis St. now has a beautiful backyard fence. This fence, along with a ton of landscaping work in the back, front, and side yards, came about through dozens of hours of labor by parishioners Brett and Janis Jacobs – who will be upset that I am publicly recognizing them here (sorry, not sorry!).
Of course, these are only two examples in an absolute sea of generosity. We have scores of volunteers who do so much for our parish week-in and week-out to make our liturgies successful, to keep up our grounds, to launder our linens, replace our votive candles, water our flowers, teach our classes – the list goes on forever. We also have hundreds of dedicated families who tithe consistently and magnanimously to ensure that our parish has the resources it needs to carry out its mission.
All of this is to say that, even though the pastor is the most visible minister at a parish, the parish is not the pastor’s work. A parish can only survive and thrive because of the innumerable hours and efforts of the parish community. Emerging from the other end of a pandemic, and having just experienced my first real Triduum here at Assumption, that reality is very obvious to me this month.
Fr. Moore 