Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
When I first went off to major seminary, it was a tremendous learning curve in so many ways. A huge shift in the number of seminarians (from 20 to 200), a new culture, a new language to learn; on and on it went. And the seminary staff, in its wisdom, did a lot during the Orientation process to help mitigate and navigate some of those difficult transitions for the new guys. But at a certain point, they were almost too good at it. I distinctly feeling a bit out of place because I was being treated with kid gloves. One particular afternoon, a bunch of guys were moving furniture around in one of the meeting rooms to get ready for an event happening in there that evening. I asked if I could help and they politely declined, mostly because I was a new guy. But I told them I actually WANTED to help. Why? Because in doing so, I would feel more like one of the guys, like I actually belonged as a seminarian.
You may be wondering why I’m bringing up a random anecdote from my seminary days. Well, there’s something to be said for getting more integrated into a community helping and volunteering. Particularly in a church setting, there tend to exist different layers of individual involvement. At the basic level of things, are those that might be officially registered, but outside of the major holidays or big sacramental moments like baptisms or weddings we rarely see them. Then there are those who are fairly active in terms of attending Mass, but that’s largely the extent of their interactions with the parish. And then there are those who not only come regularly to Mass and other community events, but also take the time to volunteer and be active in one or multiple ministries here at the parish. Each layer has value and it’s important to realize that we sometimes move from one layer to another, depending on our circumstances in life.
Next weekend, the parish is putting on a Ministry Fair. We had a liturgical fair somewhere around 2018, but it’s been since 2006 since we’ve had one for all ministries. And while you’ll likely hear either Michelle Dore’ or Marge Gaffney speak about it this weekend, I’d like to give a little of my own perspective on the reason why we’re doing it. Despite what it might initially look like, the goal of the Ministry Fair isn’t so much to add members to this particular ministry or that one. It’s not to respond to a need for new members. Rather, it’s like that afternoon in seminary for me. An opportunity to invite parishioners to consider something new in order to help them realize that they truly belong in our community. Everyone has gifts and talents. Everyone belongs in our parish. And I hope you might find a suitable place for yourself at the Ministry Fair.
Peace and Goodness,
Fr. Dan
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