Church of the
Annunciation

A “holy” person is? It is a fundamental question. In our 1^st Reading (Leviticus) God speaks to Moses to tell the Israelite Community to “Be holy, for I, the Lord, your God am holy.” “Holy” means to be set apart in “faithful love” to God and to neighbor. Jesus says to his disciples if you wish to be with me you must love your enemies and pray for your persecutors. Discipleship has this ethical imperative. But what if the person you perceive to be persecuting you is the Bishop? We (Annunciation and St. Vincent de Paul) have received a “no” from Bishop Malone to our concept proposal of establishing one new Catholic School in Elma. I accept his decision and I beseech parishioners and parents to do so for the sake of the teachers and children. We must help our teachers adjust to the reality of their situation, to envision new possibilities and to transition. We must support parents as they search for the right place to send their children next year. Our Pastoral and Education Advisory Councils will be working closely with Sr. Marilyn and the Home School Guild to honor our dedicated teachers, to bond with alumni to celebrate our rich history, and to ensure the last semester will be an awesome time for our students full of joy and sadness, smiles and tears. We must be honest about our disappointment, express our disagreement and channel our anger so it does not become destructive. Deb Keenan, our Pastoral Associate for Ministry, is planning a healing service to provide an occasion for us to come together in loss and pain and to pray for God’s healing and strength. Deacon Jim Jaworski, our Pastoral Associate for Administration, will be convening a special committee to plan for the best utilization of our space in keeping with our parish vision and mission: before and after school programs, a Pre-K Children Learning Center, activities during the day like Music with Mar, religious education classes, Boy Scout assemblies, sports and enrichment and remedial classes. Imagine that you are holding up just a picture frame and looking at our School. Now step back and look again. There is a new and wider focus that includes children going to neighboring Catholic Schools, children in our religious education programs and children schooled at home. There are wonderful new possibilities. We are entering more deeply into the Paschal Mystery -- the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. I urge you too to pray for Bishop Malone -- he has been given a very difficult task to do. As we pray for our Bishop, the Lord will begin to heal our own hearts and to renew our faith community.