Message from Fr. David – July 11, 2021
I hope that everyone had a safe and restful Fourth of July holiday weekend. Thank you for the warm welcome this past weekend! Please know how happy and blessed I am to be with you, to lead and serve, this community of faith.
I’m providing a brief recap of my remarks at all the Masses this past weekend. I’m also including in this week’s bulletin column some news regarding COVID-19 Pandemic updates to church protocols and norms. Praise God that we are well on our way towards normalcy, albeit new. Looking forward to meeting more of you in the upcoming weeks.
Fr. David Santos’ Remarks to the Parish
I would like to thank Fr. Joe Barbone for his kind welcome and for facilitating a smooth transition. Recently, someone shared a story about the church that I found so beautiful and moving. I heard that when the church was being built, a hole was dug where the altar would eventually go, into which rocks were placed with the names of parishioners to memorialize the construction of the new church. I also heard that rocks without names were placed there as well to represent all future parishioners who would become a part of this community of faith. Well, I imagine there’s a rock somewhere down there with my name on it, right next to all of yours.
I love that image because it speaks to what a community of faith should be:
People from all walks of life, gathered together, rocks of faith, all drawn to the altar where we are nourished by the Bread of Life, the Eucharist, and strengthened by the Word of God.
That’s who you are! And now I am grateful to become a part of that! People may be wondering what my vision is. Simply put, I don’t have one because I haven’t asked you. My plan is to offer opportunities in the very near future for parishioners to share their thoughts.
I look forward to meeting you, getting to know you, and working with you in maintaining the strong foundation of faith here at Saint James.
Fr. David Santos