A Spirit-Filled Weekend and Grateful Hearts

Congratulations to our high school students who received the gift of the Holy Spirit this weekend during the 5 PM Mass. Thanks also to Bishop Powers for joining us and conferring the Sacrament upon them. As I wrote last week, they are an impressive group of young adults. Welcome to all of their family members and friends who joined us for the Mass and celebration of the Sacrament of Confirmation. We are blessed to have you with us.

It has been really noisy outside of my office this week, but the noise is necessary. We discovered a while back that some of our block work on the outside of our church has cracked. This is likely a result of the block freezing and thawing. Also there is evidence of moisture condensation. A contractor has begun the work of pulling out the cracked blocks and replacing them with new. This work will continue over the next week or so, depending on the weather. 

Beginning this week, you will also notice supplies being brought in so work can begin on replacing our roof. The hailstorms of two and three years ago damaged our roof. The damage did not show itself until this summer. This is not unusual for a vinyl roof. Damage doesn’t show itself until the roof has frozen and thawed. The good news is that our insurance will cover the cost of replacing our roof. Also, based on core samples, it appears we can anticipate damage to the insulation under the roof and possibly to the wooden roof deck. If there is damage, it will also be covered by our insurance. However there is some work that needs to be done on some of the windows that look out on the roof. This work will not be covered by insurance. Work will begin in earnest on October 20. Of course it is dependent on the weather, but the project will take two to three weeks. During this time, drive extra cautiously through our parking lot as several workers will be present and moving about.

It can seem like there is always a list of work that needs to be done in and around our buildings. Whether it is repairing, replacing, or adding something new, technology changes, things wear out, or stuff breaks. In addition, with well over a thousand people coming through our doors every week, there is always something that needs to be cleaned. 

Sometimes we can do the work ourselves, utilizing our maintenance staff and/or volunteers. At other times, we need to hire a contractor. One recent project we were able to complete ourselves, using mostly volunteers, was taking down two very large trees at church and one tree at our school. Many thanks to the volunteers who worked so hard to take down the trees, cut them up, and haul everything away. Much sweat was put forth in doing all of the necessary work. With God’s blessings and protection, it was also done safely. Thanks again to those who helped with this project.

Finally, we bid farewell to Antoinette Kaiser this weekend. Antoinette has been with us for seven years, most recently serving as our Coordinator of Evangelization and Discipleship. Antoinette spent a great deal of her time working with our high school and middle school students as well as with our Pro-life committee. I am personally grateful for her help in instituting more prayer time for our staff. By her example, she reminded us often of the importance of being people of prayer when we work for the Church. We wish Antoinette God’s blessings as she moves to Kansas to be closer to her family.