Bill and Betty Hinton have been active members of the parish for many years. Sadly, Bill passed away after a brief illness and we celebrated his Mass of Christian Burial last Saturday, August 8th. As I visited Bill to anoint him and give him Holy Communion just a week before he died, I was moved by his deep faith as he said even on his deathbed, how good God has always been to him, especially because of his wife of 57 years and the gift of his children and grandchildren. He and Betty visited the sick in the hospital in order to let them know of our prayerful support. We extend our sympathy to Betty and to their daughter Judy Mackey who is also an active member of our parish, and to their whole family. May Bill receive his just reward.
This weekend we gathered for a funeral service for Therese Mayfield, the daughter of parishioners Grace Pauloski & her son Tom Pauloski. Therese had been suffering from cancer for a long time and I had the opportunity to anoint her and pray with her a few weeks ago as she entrusted herself to God’s loving care. We extend our sympathy to her mother Grace, to her husband Michael, to their five children, and to her brothers Thomas & Matthew. Therese enjoyed cooking and artistic activities but especially enjoyed time with her family, especially her grandchildren. May she rest now in God’s peace.
Edward Gorczyca had been an original member of our parish but most recently belonged to St. Anthony of Padua where a funeral was celebrated for him. His 3 children attended our parish school. Edward died on August 9th at the age of 97. We pray for him and for all of the former parishioners of St. Leo’s.
Our principal Denise Burns and our teachers and school staff have been working hard to prepare for what will be one of the most challenging school years they have ever experienced. The plan right now is for Grades K-5 to be here Monday-Friday while Grades 6-8 will be here just two days a week and then have remote learning the other three days of the week. The teachers have been instructed how to use Google Classroom which will record their voice and the whiteboards they use in their classrooms for those who will be learning from home. Each of the students have been given their own computer to use. Some parents are choosing to have their children learn from home, at least for the first few weeks while others are choosing to have them be physically present at the school. It’s good that parents are able to make that choice for their own children and I’m very grateful to Mrs. Burns and to our faculty for the flexibility in providing these choices to our parents. I have encouraged them to do the best they can this year and I do so knowing of their competence and dedication to our children. We are purchasing fogging machines and a special disinfectant that will be used to clean each room of the school building every day as well as the church after each weekday and weekend Mass. Gratefully we are being offered additional funding for COVID related expenses as we must purchase not only disinfectant but masks, face shields, stickers for directions throughout the building, cameras that take temperatures of each person as that enter the building, etc. It’s going to be a year like no other in our history. Please continue to pray for the safety of our children and staff and everyone in our parish during this time.