 Fr.
Tom's Tomes September 25, 2005
I like to welcome the Venture Crew Unit from Holy Rosary Church to our parish of St. Columban this weekend. The Venture Crew is a coed group of youth ages 14 to 21 who are a part of the Boy Scouts of America. Venture Crews bring together youth to continue to grow in awareness of who they are and are interested in looking at the gifts and talents they have received from God and how to use these gifts and talents for others. The Venture Crew and other youth from Henry and St. Clair Counties, Missouri will be attending the National Catholic Youth Convention in Atlanta, Georgia October 26 to 30, 2005.
The Venture Crew decided to come to Chillicothe to do service work for our school and parish and to have a great weekend. These youth are very generous individuals who give of their free time to help others. They have worked on several projects in the Clinton area as well as enjoyed the company of each other on canoe trips to Emminence, Missouri and a trip to St. Louis. Some of the youth visiting this weekend have earned the religious emblem of Pope Pius XII award through Boy Scouts of America.
Youth in our church is the future Church. All youth of our parish is a gift from God for us to model our faith and love of God to. I am aware we do have youth groups at St. Columban and it is my hope they will continue to grow and flourish. We as adults need to give of our time and energy to help our youth to recognize their gifts and talents to be used to help spread the message of Jesus Christ to others. I think it would be great if we could combine efforts from both of these groups to reach out to others to make a difference in the lives of people of our communities.
I want to let parishioners know I will be leaving for vacation on Sunday, October 2 and returning early evening on Friday, October 14, 2005. I will be traveling with my mom and a sister to Mount Rushmore, Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks. Once a year we take a vacation to explore the beauty and history of our country. The weekend I am gone Fr. Keith Branson who is a Precious Blood Priest will be here for Masses. I am very grateful to him to be here for the weekend because it is getting harder and harder to find priests to fill in. I would ask you to welcome him when you see him on the weekend of October 8 and 9.
There will not be a morning Mass on Saturday, October 1. Before coming to St. Columban I agreed to witness the exchange of vows for a couple at St. Bartholomew’s Parish. I have known this couple for around 10 years and this is a special day in their lives. They have been waiting for this day for several years and I will go back for their wedding on Saturday morning. I will then return for the wedding of Doug Bonderer and Jodie Bailey that afternoon.
Weddings are important times in the lives of a bride and groom. I would like to remind our parishioners of the fact the Diocese of Kansas City - St. Joseph requires couples to notify the parish of their intent to get married at least nine months in advance of a possible wedding date. In order to help couples in their planning of their wedding there will be a St. Columban Parish Wedding Guideline Book coming out around the beginning of June, 2006. This will help couples to understand the expectations of wedding liturgies here at St. Columban. The policy booklet will help establish guidelines for all weddings to follow. I am letting parishioners know this now so that as couples come to begin their marriage preparation they will be aware of the fact in the future there will be a consistent set of guidelines for all to follow.
Thank you to all who worked so hard to make the St. Columban Fall Festival such a huge success. I enjoyed the afternoon of seeing the wonderful festival take place. I enjoyed visiting with people of the parish, taking part in the face painting and enjoying the delicious food which the different booths had to offer. I did miss the judging of the baby contest but I did hear from a couple of people they liked the return of the baby contest. I know there is a lot of work and effort which went into the afternoon and those individuals who organized and worked on the Fall Festival did a fantastic job. I know and believe that many hands make light work. Thanks to all who had a part in the festival. I am looking forward to next year to a great effort. There was some talk about possibly moving the Fall Festival into October. We will begin to have the discussion now so that we can make a wise decision as to when to have the Fall Festival.
May God bless you this week.
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