Dear Parishioners,
Lorraine Konefal was a parishioner whom I will always remember walking to her pew (always the first row in front of the tabernacle) with her cane and her large brim hat that she always wore to Mass. I was glad to have had the opportunity to see her a final time at the new Metro Hospital just a couple of weeks ago when I anointed her & talked about her life. We celebrated her funeral Mass last Tuesday & remembered how she spent many years as a model and dance instructor who also loved to travel. She won many contests such as Miss Valley View, Miss January and Miss Lorain (to name just a few). Lorraine can be seen talking to Bishop Malesic on the large poster above the display case in the vestibule. That picture was taken last year when the Bishop was here to celebrate Mass at the beginning of our 75th Parish Anniversary. Lorainne was a devout Catholic who attended Mass faithfully and had a devotion to St. Terese & to the Blessed Mother. May she now rejoice with them in her eternal home.
Did you notice the newly painted sloping roof of our church when you drove in for Mass today? It once sported the gold color that Fr. Russ Lowe wanted to remind him of Notre Dame. It is now a dark brown color and I suspect you think that is meant to remind you of the Cleveland Browns (I could have gone with orange too but somehow that just didn’t seem to be the right color). But in reality it took a bit of thought to come up with the right color. I initially wanted to restore the original color but it was difficult to determine exactly what that was, though some of you may recall what it was. From old pictures dating back to 1959, it appeared to be either a cement color or even white which may have matched the stones on the arches around the church before they became dirty and weathered. I finally thought that it might be best to match the color of the new awnings that we placed at the entrances of the buildings which designate what those buildings are. When you see it as you drive in, I am hoping that you will be reminded of chocolate, because that best describes the color. If you like the color, please let me know. If you don’t, please send an email or text to Nina Capone, our Office Manager, or to Mary Lynn Haldi, one of our Receptionists. They will file your complaint in the appropriate filing cabinet drawer for when it is painted again in 10 years.
The new handicapped ramp, seating area & concrete parking spaces by Lux Hall should also be completed by the time you read this. We hope it will provide much easier access for people who need to enter the gym via a wheelchair or walker, rather than having to make the long trip through the side entrance of the school building, then through the cafeteria & hallways. This also brings to completion the numerous updates in our school building which includes air conditioning in the cafeteria, new windows throughout the school & in the gym, new tables in the cafeteria, all new desks & lockers in the classrooms and new remotely controlled locks on all the doors & cameras throughout all the buildings. I am grateful to Mrs. Denise Burns, our Principal, for the many grants she was able to attain which helped pay for many of these projects. Mass for Labor Day will be at 9am on Monday (outside, weather-permitting) and of course the Rectory Office will be closed as usual. We welcome our students back to school this Tuesday and ask God to bless them and our teachers and staff as we begin a new school year.
Congratulations to Jill Kramer (who worked in our rectory office many years ago!) & to her husband Nathaniel Frances as they were married last Friday, September 1st. May God grant them many years of happiness together.
Fr. James P. Schmitz