This is a time of transition at our parish. Rita Bauldry and Maura Vazquez are leaving (we wish them the best!) and we will be hiring some new people to replace them. With new employees there is always a period of adjustment. For the staff members, too, the adjustments include teaching and orienting the new team members to their jobs. As parishioners, I ask you to be patient and to help us to teach the new persons about our parish family.

Each parish employee is expected to work with a high degree of professionalism. We expect trust, confidentiality, respect, and pastoral care to be among their best qualities. Even the secretary-receptionist encounters people in very vulnerable situations and must relate with them with great sensitivity. We invite you as parishioners to be aware of such expectations as you make requests and bring information to the parish. Nonetheless, each employee, including the pastor, has an assigned set of tasks to complete and a limited amount of time to complete those tasks. Let us all be sensitive of each other’s needs and respectful of the obligations which each person has.

One of the challenges and riches of our parish community is our multi-cultural and bi-lingual membership. With every program, plan, initiative, communication, and liturgy we must think about and prepare ourselves to be open to the multiple ways by which people hear and speak, give and receive. How we pray, how we relate, how we share our thoughts and concerns, etc. cannot be taken for granted. I again ask everyone to be patient with each other, including with and among the staff. Our efforts to understand each other are not always successful. This does not happen because of a lack of desire. In fact I am impressed by how many parishioners go out of their way to better understand the other. This is a Christ-like activity!

May St. Joseph and St. Cajetan, patron saints of workers, and St. Angela Merici, patron saint of change, pray for St. Willebrord Parish during this time.

Peace, Fr. Andy