Psalm 146
Praise the Lord, O my soul, in my life I will praise the Lord: I will sing to my God as long as I shall be. Put not your trust in princes: In the children of men, in whom there is no salvation. His spirit shall go forth, and he shall return into his earth: in that day all their thoughts shall perish.
Blessed is he who hath the God of Jacob for his helper, whose hope is in the Lord his God: Who made heaven and earth, the sea, and all things that are in them. Who keepeth truth for ever: who executeth judgment for them that suffer wrong: who giveth food to the hungry.
The Lord looseth them that are fettered: The Lord enlighteneth the blind. The Lord lifteth up them that are cast down: the Lord loveth the just. The Lord keepeth the strangers, he will support the fatherless and the widow: and the ways of sinners he will destroy.
The Lord shall reign for ever: thy God, O Zion, unto generation and generation.
I like the new priest even though it is impossible to understand much of what he says. He is hitting us heavy with a message of 'the parish leads to forgive and heal' or else...He states that we need to come together as one...He states that leadership in the church can be flawed but Jesus is the true leader...he states that we need to be the sheperds and find the lost sheep and bring them back to the empty churches...He says that parishioners are angry and bitter...He speaks the truth but I wonder if he has the whole picture. I wonder what he has been told and if it represented the truth.
ReplyDeleteIf the leadership asked us to jump off a cliff, should we do it?
ReplyDeleteI can't understand Father Fred either but he is very humble and seems very holy. To his defense, it is very hard to walk into a parish when things are going good- to walk into this parish must be horrific. He is probably getting most of his information from those at the Central Office. He seems very intelligent- he will sort through the nonsense and figure everything out. In the meantime, he is right, we need to pray. I heard what he said about we need to go find the people who aren't attending mass and bring them back. But, who can do this? Most of us "regulars" aren't staying or aren't happy, how can we "sell" the parish to those who have left? Honestly, I would tell anyone thinking about coming back, to go to another parish until there is some changes made at All Saints.
ReplyDeleteWell, he's right if he said the parishioners are angry and bitter!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I have never seen anything like this. even at the Y people are venting on the treadmills. On Sunday night, the Peaches and Cream line was 10 deep with people complaining. Not even a good cone will numb the pain from this latest move.
ReplyDeleteOr a stiff drink.
ReplyDeleteMy neighbor just shared that she heard that the Leader and Star Gazette were reading these blogs and preparing articles. I hate to see this get too big but maybe this is what it will take to get Rochester involved. Shame on all of them for ignoring us. Don't we help to pay their salaries through the appeals? They should feel obligated to send someone down here. If this were a big corporation, the CEO would have been down here 3 years ago.
ReplyDeleteRochester will not help us! Dean has stated that they "have his back". I don't know what it will take for them to acknowledge that we have a bad "fit". We are a traditional and conservative CATHOLIC community. Sending Dean here was like trying to mix oil and water.
ReplyDeleteGood for the Leader and the Star Gazette. More people besides those commenting need to know what's going on. I think everyone needs to know. As far as everyone attending one of his meetings, not going happen. Concerns have been voiced numerous times previously and he goes ahead his way anyway.
ReplyDeleteI think this is the problem.(Above comment that concerns have previously been voiced) People might be able to accept that buildings need to be sold if the circumstances were different. If Deacon Dean had come in here with a heart to serve and with ears to listen, he could have won the people over and they would have trusted his judgement. But that's not what happened, beginning with Marie McCaig and now with Alene, the parishioners have labeled Deacon Dean as someone who doesn't have their interest in mind, is self-serving and takes away everything and everyone that makes their faith experience positive. He blew it. Big time. Every action has a consequence and what we are seeing is just that.
ReplyDeleteI might tick a few of you off but I do feel sorry for Dean. Even though he brought this on through his own actions and even though I would not want him to be Captain on the ship, I still think he might be getting treated unfairly. I don't know what the process is in the Rochester Diocese for becoming a Pastoral Administrator but believe that the problem is here. Leadership cannot be taught and no degree or certificate will create it. We often don't realize that someone is a poor leader UNTIL they demonstrate this. The fact that Deacon Dean is not doing well does not mean that he's not doing the best he can do. We need to stop beating him up and lay the blame on the process. Sure- he should step down but we should be a bit more sensitive to the pain his shortcomings are causing to his family and himself.
ReplyDeleteOH, please!
ReplyDeleteWe can pray for him and his family. We should pray for them. I agree that his family is no doubt going through pain. This kind of division is hurtful for all involved.
ReplyDeleteI am not sure this is the correct "strand" to comment on this but, here goes. As I was clicking through the diocesan website looking for a way to email them I came across the mission statement:
ReplyDelete"Diocese of Rochester Mission Statement
We, the Catholic Church of the Diocese of Rochester, joyfully embrace our baptismal call to worship God, to preach the good news of Christ, to build up the community of faith and hope in the Holy Spirit, and to serve those in need.
As pilgrims nourished by the Eucharist for our journey of faith, we work with other churches and with all who seek harmony within the human family to advance the reign of God.
Continuing our diocese's century-old tradition of courage and creativity, and responding to the Second Vatican Council's call for the ongoing conversion of the Church, we strive to meet the needs of our community in this time and this place."
There are many points to comment on here, but I will focus on the last line..."we strive to meet the needs of our community in this time and this place."
For weeks I have been watching the blog and website. One line which keeps popping up...that the diocese will not do anything and that they support our Administrator. "We" are the community and our "needs" are not being met. The diocese is not fulfilling its "mission." Plain and simple. We, as members of the community need to let them know that and hold them accountable.
Mary-
ReplyDeleteBut how do we get their attention? Letters, calls, e-mails...we have tried them all. IF we do get a response, it's always a generic-thank you for writing-we'll pray for you. I know who you are and have admired your beautiful family for several years. Let us hope and pray we can turn this around and that one day your boys will be proud to call All Saints their parish.
Bottom Line is: This Diocese Does Not Care what he does. It simply can't be rationalized no matter how hard one tries.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lcPcLKYkmFE&feature=player_embedded#!
ReplyDeletethis is what church is ,, Amen
The video to the link in the comment above has been embedded on the Articles page at SavingOurParish.com. Just scroll down a bit. Thank you for posting the link!
ReplyDeleteDare I ask this...can something be done legally? Perhaps contacting the diocesan tribunal? (If that is the proper dept.) They are failing at their mission...in several areas. (i.e. "building up the community of faith," The whole second paragraph, "conversion.") Perhaps an attorney (affected by this) would donate their time.
ReplyDeleteGiving up is not an option -- evil will have won. The only way I know to combat evil is with loads and loads of love...love for our church, for our community and yes, even for our Parish Administration.
It seems the diocese has its own ingrown culture, developing its own internal logic on how to deal with things exclusive of the people it serves. I think attempts to talk about issues should be documented and the responses. It seems nobody is responsible for anything except calling the shots. documentation is always a good place to start.
ReplyDeleteGreat Video link i posted huh !!!!! :)
ReplyDeletePEACE