Father's Day (Part II)

We had an even better response this morning for the Beer and Brats Bash. I am thrilled by the reaction of our people to these community-building experiences. For me the highlight of the gathering was when an older gentleman - one of the old-time pillars of the community - stopped by on his motorized scooter (he lives down the street) and commented on how much life he was seeing in the parish. God indeed is good!

Father's Day Bash

Tonight's "Beer and Brats Bash" in honour of Father's Day went over reasonably well after Mass. I think we had more people stick around for the Mother's Day gathering but others disputed that suggesting that the location we chose tonight allowed us to be more spread out than last time. Whatever the case may be those who stuck around definitely enjoyed themselves. And I had the pleasure of meeting a young family who is returning to the parish after a number of years away. God is doing wonderful things at Saint John Parish ... I am so excited - and humbled - to be a part of His work here!

From several years ago ...

A friend from a former parish recently sent me this clip. Don't know how she found it! I was the keynote speaker for the Diocese of Trenton's Diocesan Youth Celebration and during the course of the day I was interviewed for the Diocese's youth TV program, Real Faith TV. Somewhere in this segment is the interview with me. I never saw the final product; I really can't stand to watch or listen to myself!

Interesting

Read this today and found it very interesting:

I have known, admired, and revered Fr. Jaki for over thirty years. I first met him in the mid-1970s when he came to John Jay College and gave a brilliant talk on what he called the "stillbirths of science" in ancient India, China, Egypt, Babylon, and Greece, and on the "only viable birth" of science in medieval Christianity. His account of the rise of science was a Copernican turn in historiography. All those ancient cultures had come to a stop after making a few steps in the direction of the three laws of motion (the basis of exact science) because they viewed the world as an eternal treadmill, doomed to endless returns after every Great Year (represented by the swastika). For those cultures, the status quo was the most that could ever be achieved. Christians, by contrast, believed in a creation out of nothing and a single one-directional movement in time. No wonder a Christian scholar named Buridan formulated the first law of motion in 1348. Historians of science are mum about these "stillbirths of science" in pagan antiquity and of its "only viable birth" in medieval Christianity. The supposed darkness of the Middle Ages turns out to be the "dark recesses" of the biased minds of historians. For more on this, read Fr. Jaki's Science and Creation.

Famous Parishioners!

This is a St. John's parishioner. He is a member of the choir and a lector. His wife serves on Pastoral Council.

Perhaps he can start a St. John's golf team ...

Web Site Worth It?

Is having a parish web site worth the trouble and expense? In case I had any doubt:

Fr. Lubic,

I am writing to say how happy I am to see such a great web site for St. John's. St. John's was my parish up until 1999 when our family moved to Florida. My brothers and attended the school and I was the last class to graduate in 1994 before it closed. Our family lived in the red brick house on the corner 3 down from the church. I miss Perryopolis very much, and St. John's as well. But now, when I am feeling home sick I can log on to the web site, look at pictures, and read your blogs. It is comforting to know that a priest is there that cares about the people and about the community. I live in Myrtle Beach, SC that has a total of 2 catholic church's. I have not found one that I have been comfortable in. I wish that you could bring a little of your spirit to the priests down here. Once again thank you for such a great web site.

Sincerely,

Benjamin W. Martin

Facebook

OK, I admit it. I am an inveterate Facebook addict. I have had an account for years but really did little with it. Then I discovered how easy it was to take pics with my iPhone and immediately upload them to Facebook. Once I realized that, I was hooked.

It has proven to be yet another way to reconnect with people from the past. A whole group of 1984 Geibel grads planned out upcoming reunion through Facebook correspondence. It is also another excellent ministry tool. The Church can never sit back and wait for the people to come to her; she must go out into the world and meet the people where they are. And today they - especially but by no means exclusively the young - are to be found in "places" like Facebook.

Friends have at times accused me of overdoing it; the laugh and mock me for "posting my every move" on Facebook. To a degree they are correct and I deserve the mockery! However, on a very practical level, my "overdoing it" serves to give an "as it happens" view of what the day to day life of a priest is really like. We don't (as I stressed in the bulletin a fortnight or so ago) work a few hours Sunday morning and spend the rest of the week on the links!

If you are on Facebook you can find me by searching "Bob Lubic."

Lots going on!

A hive of activity the last several days. Things are finally starting to happen around here ... I, for one, am quite excited!

The sanctuary walls have been repaired and re-plastered with a beautiful Spanish texture. I can't wait to see how it looks once it is painted.

The sidewalks around the church have been "lifted" by a technique that pumps a material under them. This has eliminated the dangerous unevenness in the sidewalks that was just inviting people to fall. I am quite pleased with the results, especially right in front of the entrance, where I have seen countless people stumble on the uneven surface.

I also working on de-tchaching the vestibule of the Church. I don't think that any area of the Church should be junked-up. I had the two bulletin boards removed (with one moved to the hallway leading to the cry-room and the water closets. I have some other plans for the vestibule that I hope will make it a more fitting transitional space between the secular and the sacred.

Nice letter ...

The parishioner who wrote me the following very nice and humbling email suggested it might be good to include it on the blog as counter to the "less-than-nice" email I published previously. So, removing all names so as to "protect the innocent, here goes:

Father Bob:

How can I even begin to thank you? I'm truly embarrassed to say that I have been dreading this day (the day of my daughter's baptism) for weeks because of all the tension and stress between myself and my daughter's father and our families. But, I have to tell you that you alone were able to take this day from something that could have left hard feelings among our Jewish guests to something absolutely beautiful and moving to everyone involved. You reminded me (and everyone else) why we were there today. You brought us back to the core of baptism. You were able to pull us out of our own personal tensions, to REMEMBER what this day is about - the baptism of a beautiful innocent child - not the petty differences between the families. The way [my daughter] smiled and laughed today during the service only solidified my belief that angels were among us and flying close to the ground today.

I wish you could have been a fly on the wall after the baptism service this afternoon. EVERYONE (both Catholic and Jewish) had the most wonderful things to say about you. People were truly moved and overwhelmed that you were so very sensitive to the Jewish guests while still adhering to our faith as Catholics.

I'm honored that my daughter will learn and grow in the Catholic faith because of your sensitivity and persistence in helping to finally have her baptised. From the counseling sessions with me as well as [my daughter's] father, to the deterring phone calls from other family members, you have stood by my side in the most important quest - to have this innocent child become a member of our faith.

You truly impressed me and many, many others at the service today. I can only imagine how hard it was for you to make sure that everyone was comfortable admist the stress and uncertainity of having families with personal issues all together in one room, let alone knowing that half were Jewish. For that, I thank you from the bottom of my heart.

Tomorrow, I will frame [my daughter's] baptism certificate and when she is older, I will proudly show her the videotape of today's service. I will always remember your kindness and will make sure she knows what a wonderful gift you have given her today.

I truly want you to know what an inspiration, calming guide and friend that you have become to me. As you know, I drifted slightly from the church for awhile and felt unworthy and reluctant to come back - being as I'm an unwed mother. But, you have made me feel welcome and have gone above and beyond to help me through the current hardships that I'm having in my life. If I would have tried to come back to my childhood church, St. John's, with another priest at the helm, I may not have had the courage to continue, but you have shown me what our faith is all about - forgiveness, community and most of all, love. You emcompass and define all that's good and true within the priesthood.

So, let the naysayers come - they can send you snarky emails or negative words - but don't let it get you down --- just know that you have a band of brothers standing behind you - both Catholic and Jewish. Isn't that what all priests should be doing? Respecting other faiths/beliefs while remaining true to our own?

As my grandfather used to say when we did something that he was pround of - "You done good."

And, I'd like to quote [...], who was at the service today (and for the record, is very 'hard to please' in any situation - but not today), she spoke of you fondly and in the end only had one additional thought of your service today - "brilliant."

Again, from myself, my family and my daughter - we thank you!

A preview of next weekend's bulletin ...

Following are some of my remarks which will appear in this coming weekend's parish bulletin:

AIR-CONDITIONING As we head into the summer months the age-old battle between those who are "too hot" and those who are "too cold" heats up (bad pun intended). This past Sunday I understand that there were complaints because the air conditioning was in use. Considering that the Church was packed and that Mass would be somewhat longer than normal because it was a) Pentecost, b) graduates' recognition, and c) the Youth Mass, I believed that it would get uncomfortably hot if the air were not employed. I know that I was sweating like a stuffed pig walking down the aisle at the beginning of Mass, before the church had cooled. (I didn't turn it on until right before Mass.)

I have learned over the years that I will NEVER make everyone happy; it will always be too hot or too cold for some no matter what. However, I have always approached the issue from this point of view: when we are too hot, we can't in church strip down to our skivvies (or less!) but when we are too cold we CAN choose to wear additional clothing. So it seems that when it is going to be warm it makes most sense to use the air conditioning and trust that those who think it may be too cool for them to have the common sense to dress appropriately. Obviously this past weekend was the exception because we are at the very beginning of the warm season and people may not have yet expected the air conditioning to be in use. From this point on, though, it is reasonable to expect it to be used unless it is unseasonably cool. And if there is doubt one can always bring a sweater just in case!

SPEAKING OF MASS BEING LONGER THAN NORMAL ... Another no win situation! There will be people who would complain if the priest had them in and out in twenty minutes! Not quite sure why those types (a very tiny minority I trust!) even bother. My personal philosophy has always been that I have an hour. If I use less than that, great. If I consistently go over an hour there is a problem and I am showing disrespect toward my people. However, there WILL be times when it is to be assumed that Mass will exceed an hour. The High Holy Days of our faith - Easter, Christmas, Epiphany, Pentecost, to name a few. Masses where sacraments are being administered. (Although I have always tried my best to keep Masses where a Baptism is taking place to no more than an hour by shortening the homily.) And a few other times when circumstances make it very difficult NOT to go longer, for example when we are obliged to read a twenty minute-long letter from the Bishop. Generally, though, I try my best not to exceed that magical one-hour limit.

It is a little different now for me, being a pastor, and the only priest regularly celebrating. (We have Fr. Jim, of course, but he usually celebrates at St. John only one Mass a month.) In my past assignments as an assistant it seemed that I was with priests who tended to preach longer than I so no matter how long I yammered on I was always the one with the "shorter Mass." I kind of miss those stress-free days!