Today we are having our Parish Picnic—rain or shine— after the 11am Mass. If it shines, we’ll be out by the shrine area behind the Parish Center. If it rains, we’ll be in Lux Hall. Either way, we’ll have hamburgers & hot dogs, shrimp and escargot, filet mignon and lobster tails. OK, we’re only have hamburgers & hot dogs, but now that your mouth is watering, come join us for some good food and enjoyable fellowship. My thanks in advance to those who will be setting up and tearing down, cooking and serving, and to everyone who is helping you and I to have a relaxing, enjoyable time. Even if you can stay only for a few minutes, we would love to see you.
And on your way out of church this weekend, can you remember to pick up the envelope with your name on it in the vestibule of the church? By asking everyone to help us sell just a few raffle tickets, we are able to make enough money to pay some bills. The Parish Festival is less than 3 months away, so please do your best to help us make it successful financially as well as socially.
Last week we had the marble floor of the sanctuary cleaned and polished and it’s looking great. Though it looks slippery it isn’t so if you’re a lector or Eucharistic Minister, don’t be afraid to come into the altar area. We learned that marble should only be cleaned in a certain way and that chemicals or wax should never be applied to it so if there’s ever a need for something to be cleaned up, please let me know so that our maintenance crew can take care of it the proper way. We hope it will retain its shine for many years.
So back to a little history as we continue our 70th Anniversary of the Parish. In 1949 the men of the parish began building the first church on parish property right where the current drive is at. It only took a few weeks to builds as it was meant to be a temporary structure. It had exposed light bulbs and hard kneelers with no padding on them! That’s what we had in the high school seminary too...talk about penance! People still complain to me that their knees were forever altered as a result of too much praying back then.
A couple of years later, the new church, meant to be more permanent, was built and dedicated on July 3, 1951 and Mass was celebrated in it starting on December 24, 1950. This is the church where many of you went to Mass, received your First Communion, were Confirmed and married in. Later, when our current church was built, this structure was moved to it’s present location and is now used as a gym and social gathering space, but it has been named Fr. Lux Hall after our first Pastor, under whom all three church buildings were built. You can see pictures of the first temporary church & of this second church in the display case in the church vestibule. Take a look at our history!