What Needs To Be Done

As you know, I was not expecting a transfer. After it came, I began to think of all the things that still need attention. Of course, each parishioner needs attention along with all of the daily tasks within any given parish. However, this is a list of programs, activities, projects that are, I believe, needed for each parish. I will start the list today and probably update it in the days to come. These items are not listed in order of importance.

BOTH PARISHES

• Follow up on the great work done by the census takers during our parish census.
• Further exploration into what resources, especially people, can be shared by both parishes.
• Improved Faith Formation for our children.  One big problem is parents sending their children to faith formation only for First Confession, First Communion, and Confirmation.  Thus, we are creating a huge generation of children who are less-informed Catholics and whose knowledge of the faith is, at best, very weak.  Our current model of providing faith formation and the current level of parental support and participation are not adequate for the eventual full and active participation of current and future families if the fullness of our Catholic faith.
• An organized program of faith formation for those who home-school their children.  The pastor shoud require a defined curriculum of studies and texts especially in those years when children are prepared for Reconciliation, Eucharist, and Confirmation.
• An organized outreach to yound adults within the parishes.
• Youth Ministry that goes beyond faith formation classes.
• Campus Ministry participants who are willing to reach out and invite other university students to participate in the life of campus ministry.
• A more organized outreach to the homebound especially in bringing them Holy Communion.
• A Parish Nurse Porgram

ST. MARY'S

• Finish the handicapped lift
• A parish center
  • A separate building
  • Sell the rectory since the offices could be put in the parish center.  The rectory is much too big for just one priest to live there if the pastor were to live in Potsdam.
• Some roof repair.
• The bells in the bell tower ring for the Angelus, but they do not work properly when we want to ring them at funerals and other special events.
  
• The stairs to the vault at the cemetery need to be replaced or another form of access to the vault is required.

ST. PATRICK'S

• Cemetery Fence
• Drainage around the rectory and the church
• Some of the sliding door frames are rotted out and need repair.

Bruce or Caitlyn

The story of Bruce Jenner has certainly captured the news media these past weeks. As many of you know, I greatly respect Fr. Robert Barron and his comments. He has commented on this topic and done a very good job of it. I encourage you to read his article. It is heavy to read, but it contains the true basis for our objections.

Click here to read the article.

Why The Census??

Some have questioned why we conducted the census.  Why did the Bishop want it?  What did Msgr. Aucoin think it was important?  Active Catholics are dwindling to the point that we do not know who they are.  A census of the area allows us to find out who they are.  The erosion of our Catholic faith and its replacement by a diluted version of Catholicism makes the value of our practices seem useless.
   I encourage you to read this article from America Magazine entitled "Your Average American Catholic."  This article accurately describes the degradation of our Catholic heritage.  It is filled with statistics, but I encourage you to follow it to the end.

This is the article