Greetings from Fr. Dave

Last weekend I introduced our Fall Homily Series,  “Why We Should Stay”, and shared some of my own reasons why I am proud to be a Catholic Christian. For the next five weeks, we will be diving more deeply into some of the treasures we have as Catholics.

Even the way our Church continues to respond to clergy sexual abuse scandals has led the way for our society to better protect our children. I hope you all know that steps have been put into action to much better keep every person safe.
 
In all our Catholic settings, clergy, staff, and any volunteer who has contact with children is required to get a full background check and go through annual training on recognizing and reporting any kind of abuse. Layers of accountability are in place and the opportunities for abuse have been lowered as a result. Other organizations are following our example in this. May it all be effective!
 
Our Wednesday evening Grow Group (6:00-7:30pm in Fireside Rm) will be taking our weekly themes and using them as the focus for discussion during this series. And for those of you who would rather come out in the daytime, I will be hosting a forum on Monday, October 21 ^st at 9:00am in the Fireside Room. We are eager to hear your comments both about the changes being made, and about the treasures you experience in our Catholic Church!
 

Blessings to Emily Falkner, David Oliphant, Ira Robles, and Emma Tongtanunam, who were baptized this weekend!
 
Funeral services are scheduled this week for long-time parishioner Merle Sala, on Tuesday, October 8 ^th at 11:00am. May her soul and all the souls of the faithful departed, rest in peace.