This year is a year of transition for the parish. There are things we do so very well – such as our Lenten, Holy Week, and Easter celebrations. I have been around 12 years now, and these really were the best ever. We have had so many people make a point of sharing how moved they were by the celebrations. One person came up to me after Holy Thursday and simply said, “Wow, wow, wow…” What makes it so moving for people? Everyone is different, but what is constant is the behind the scene work of dedicated people and their ministries: the Décor and Environment Committee, Readers, Eucharistic Ministers, Altar Servers, Ushers, Choir, Faith Formation/RCIA, the Knights, the parish staff, volunteers who pass out palms, greet people and a million other things. So many people are moved by the Eucharistic Procession on Holy Thursday – behind the scene are staff who recruit TPD for traffic safety, who go to the Franklin Street businesses to let them know, who visit the hotels to make sure they know our Holy Week schedule – so many little things – all that make the big thing the amazing thing. Continue reading
Good and Necessary Things
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A lot of people in the parish know that in my former life I was a naval officer serving on nuclear submarines in the Pacific. And people know me now as a Franciscan Friar and ordained priest. I think most people assume I went from the “monastic enclosure” of the submarine to the hallowed halls of the friary. Not so much. There was a 14-year period when I was out there in the world working in the field of consulting. I started out advising commercial nuclear-power plants – kind of an obvious transition. Before I knew it, a less obvious path opened, and I found myself working on information-technology projects. That eventually led to strategic-management consulting for several different industries. Looking back on it, one thing was for sure: It was never dull. It was exciting to continually enter into new engagements, with new clients, and have the chance to think creatively, strategically, and in all different ways. 
friarmusings 