I think your new pastor's name is a good omen.
I think your new pastor's name is a good omen.
Indeed :-) Love that painting!
The change in administration has naturally been received with mixed feelings. Personally, I see the great wisdom of God in this, right down to the timing of the above article. The reporter came unsollicited. As a result of his article, several area catholics have called inquiring about Daily Mass. Where the one pastor was a masterful business man, the other wants to expand the spiritual aspects of the parish. He has only been here one week and already introduced Daily Mass, beginning this week which coincides with the closing of St. Mary's. Several people have apparently called inquiring about the Mass Schedule and whether the church is open to non-Lebanese. In Watervliet, the Executive Director of the local Housing Authority emailed the pastor to offer free marketing.
Truly, when one window closes, God opens another! As St. Paul reminds us: "If God is for you, who can be against you!". What has been accomplished in this small parish is nothing short of a miracle. And, it's not over yet.
The new parish administrator and so-called pastor at St Ann Maronite Catholic Church in Troy, New York, has so far been a disappointment. He has no pastoral experience, his English is terrible and he can’t preach. He’s very secretive and doesn’t share parish information (perhaps because of his poor English). Caused a lot of problems so far.
The so-called “new church” is an absolute disaster in terms of planning. There are simply not enough parishioners to maintain the old church (there are perhaps only 40 or so families in the parish and only a fraction attend liturgy regularly or contribute). The hope of occupying the new church or even finishing it, much less maintaining it, is a farce.
I noted that the link to the St Ann Donations on line link is not working and goes to an old web page; this is typical of the micromanagement style there; control everything, do nothing right. Nice work! Way to go if you’re looking for donations.
More on these issues at: http://maronites.wordpress.com/
Thanks.