…”For now the LORD has spoken who formed me as his servant from the womb, that Jacob may be brought back to him and Israel gathered to him; and I am made glorious in the sight of the LORD,
and my God is now my strength!” This weekend we celebrate the Nativity of John the Baptist. It’s a break from ‘ordinary time’ to recall and celebrate the great herald of Jesus Christ – John the Baptist. Our prayer this weekend is that each of us, like John the Baptist, may use our lives and our words to herald and announce the presence of Christ and the good news of Jesus to all we meet. There are a whole variety of ways we can ‘witness’ to Christ. We do it in the words we speak, the way we greet others, and the actions and service we offer to others. Let’s use this day, and this week ahead, to ‘herald’ the presence of Christ to our world.
…This is a special weekend for our parish as we welcome people to our summer festival. Many thanks to all who have worked (and are working) so hard to create fun-filled family days for our community. It’s a great blessing to see so many working together…and coming together for our parish. Please make sure you stop by and enjoy some great music, tasty food, and wonderful people at our summer festival.
…Special thanks for your support for our Festival Raffle. We are so blessed with amazing friends of our parish community who have provided such excellent prizes. You can win a new car from Brunswick AutoMart, a great vacation… thanks to Encompass the World Travel, windows/doors from Universal Windows Direct, along with Marc’s Gift Cards and a $1000 cash prize. The summer raffle proceeds will help us update and renovate the Chapel which serves as a special place for all of us to come and find God’s abiding presence and peace. You can also get your raffle tickets online at: www.StAmbrose.us/raffle. You win – our parish community wins!! Again, many thanks to all who helped provide the most amazing raffle prizes!!!
…Many of you have been asking about information on the Immigration Issues that are facing our country. Bishop Perez, this past week, prepared both a statement and some good information for your prayerful reflection. You can find it on our parish website at: StAmbrose.us. May God guide our nation’s leaders as they discuss, debate and discern best paths forward for our nation. In the spirit of John the Baptist, please take some time to read, reflect and share your opinions and concerns with our nation’s leaders.
…Amid the activity of our parish festival, we have been working to finalize and refine the plans for the Church and Chapel repair and renovation. We will be meeting and reviewing the plans this week with the Diocesan Facilities Review committee. This is one more step in the process of refining the plan and working to receive the necessary approvals for the project. Watch for a more complete update next week.
…Rachel Russo, one of our high school students and a member of our Pastoral Council, has designed a “mentoring program” to encourage high school students to help the ‘youngers’ learn and grow and be their best selves. If you would like to learn more, please contact Jane Baldwin at jbaldwin@StAmbrose.us.
…Speaking of helping….if you want to really help us…..we could use lots of hands on Sunday night at 9:30 pm and Monday morning at 9 am to break down and clean up from the summer festival. Many hands make for light work and lots of us coming together for a few hours will go a long way to cleaning up and getting the place back in good order.
…While you are at the festival, or when you drive past on any night, check out the LED lights that now illuminate our campus. God bless our Building and Grounds volunteers for their amazing work for our parish community. The lights are brighter and much more energy-efficient. We are so blessed!!!
…BTW….check out all the flower beds. The place looks amazing thanks to our Adopt-a-Patch team. They were here every night this past week making sure the place ‘looked great’ for our festival and all our guests. We are so blessed!
…You should swing by on Monday and Tuesday nights and see the energy of Summer Volleyball for our Junior High and High School students. It’s great to see and hear their energy as they come together for summer fun and to share the bonds of faith and friendship. We are so blessed.
…Many, many, many thanks for the outpouring of cards and thoughts as we celebrated my 30th anniversary of priesthood. Every day – I begin and end my day (along with 1000 x throughout the day) – thanking God for being blessed to be with you at Saint Ambrose. You are such amazingly good people. I see it every day as you bring the presence of Christ to so many….by the great work you do for the Lord….by your faithful and caring support for our parish community. I am so blessed by your goodness. Thank you so very, very much for your thoughtfulness.
…Our two mission teams have come home (by the time you read this) and have done great wok for some of the poorest of the poor. Houses were built. Eight families moved into new homes. The Good News of Christ was taught to the children. The medical team cared for hundreds and hundreds of people. God bless you for all you do for so many here…there…everywhere!
…I hope and pray these summer days are a time of God’s grace and blessing for you and your loved ones. Please join us at the summer festival.
