We've Been Busy!
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Many Hands Accomplish Great Things
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We've Been Busy
“Love does not stay idle.” ~ Saint Catherine of Siena
COVID has certainly kept us busy! Over the last two years we have accomplished many things together. It all began with each of us learning a new routine, first in lock down and then in learning new ways to keep each other safe during worship and gatherings. We learned how to sign-up for Mass, social distance, and disinfect our worship space after Mass.
Volunteers came forward to cantor, lector and minister the Eucharist. Books and papers were removed from our pews and blue painter’s tape served as a guide for social distancing. Staff and volunteer ushers greeted us, and others guided us out of our pews during Communion and also when leaving the church. Volunteers also cleaned our carpets and wet mopped our floors. A chair lift and boilers were installed, paint was freshened up, our gardens were worked and refreshed, deliveries were made to food pantries, our kitchens were cleaned and pantries re-organized.
Thank You for warming up our world by bringing God’s Peace and Love to all the places you travel and all the people you meet!
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Many Hands“Let us be concerned for one another, to help one another to show love and to do good. Let us not give up the habit of meeting together as some are doing. Instead, let us encourage one another all the more, since you see that the Day of the Lord is coming nearer.” ~ Hebrews 10:24-25
When the Body of Christ comes together to do God’s Will, great things are accomplished. We are all members of the Body of Christ, each one of us blessed with our own unique gifts. Our Parish Finance Councils and Buildings & Grounds Committees meet regularly and thoughtfully make decisions to keep our Community safe and healthy.
Our Music Ministry fills our churches and our hearts with joy and beauty and prayerful experiences during our Masses, Remembrance Service and Taize Prayer services. Our Decoration and Environment Committees, with their devoted attention to details, create reverent spaces to enhance our worship.
When we could not gather together in our churches, our AV Team initially connected us to each other by learning and developing our live streaming capability. They painstakingly learned how to pull in text and pictures and pre-recordings into our live-stream Masses. And their heartfelt attention to details truly enhances the remote worship experience. Our AV Team continues to make it possible for our community who cannot come to our churches to feel connected to us.
Initially, our Homebound Ministry kept in touch with our homebound parishioners until the time came when they were allowed to begin visiting and bringing the Eucharist to them. Our Saint Vincent de Paul conferences have vigilantly monitored the situations during Covid, helping and ready to help parishioners and residents with financial assistance during these difficult times.
Our Funeral Ministry and Ministry of Consolation have worked together with funeral homes to continue caring for families with respect, tenderness and compassion. Mission Trips were re-imagined, Service projects continued with social distancing and our ministry to Lazarus House continued with a modified format.
And while the world embraced virtual technologies, our Pastor, Parish Staff, Children’s Liturgy of the Word, Bible study, Alpha, Young Family Ministry, Middle School, Youth Ministry, Music Ministry, Parish Finance Council Meetings, Buildings & Grounds Meetings went virtual, too! This meant learning new technologies and reaching out to volunteers for help – and help they did! While these gatherings weren’t the same as in-person, they allowed us to learn new skills, connect with each other, share smiles, jokes and conversations that further formed us as a faith-filled community. And when we were able to gather in-person, it was all the more special to be re-united with dear friends.
This is our Community. God is with us, accessible to all and approachable by all. What a gift! May we welcome Jesus into our lives and hearts like those who have gone before us, trusting God and maturing spiritually as we live in His extraordinary presence.
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Great Things
“Give yourself fully to God. He will use you to accomplish great things on the condition that you believe much more in His love than in your own weakness.” ~ Saint Teresa of Calcutta
We are blessed with all our volunteers taking care of our Community! Thank You for your faithfulness and continued support of each other, our parishes and communities. Your support is very much appreciated as it allows us to rejoice in God our Savior and serve our world as Christ's heart, hands and feet.
The following sections contain a collection of pictures that capture a taste of what we have accomplished together over the past two years.
Thank You!
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Collaborative Parish Center
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Parish Center Hall Artwork
Volunteers hung artwork depicting each of our Saints on the walls of our Collaborative Parish Center Hall. Along side of the artwork is included the stories of our patron Saints.
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Parish Center Offices
A volunteer crafted a system of hanging lexan panels as protective equipment for the Staff in the Parish Center Office reception area.
The gardens outside the front of the Parish Center were cutback and re-planted by a group of parishioners and Scout members.
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Saint Elizabeth
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Lexan shields
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Saint Isidore
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Parish Center
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Saint Isidore
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Collaborative Garden
Volunteers help till, plant and maintain the garden and dropoff produce at the food pantries.
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Garden tilled
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the Garden is sleeping
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Saint Isidore
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Flag pole with New LED Lights & Parking Signage
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Protective Cover Over Electrical Meter
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New Boilers and Hot Water tank
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Old Boilers and Hot Water Tank
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Mary Statue without Green Stains
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Sign Restored and Schedule updated
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Saint Isidore
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Painting and Protecting
Volunteer work was done over the summer of 2021 to refresh paint on fascia board and railings. In addition gaps in the front steps were filled in and the slate surface of the entrance was treated with a protective coating.
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Slate - Protective Coating
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Front Steps & Railings
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Fascia Board
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Railings & Fascia Board
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Fascia Board
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Music Ministry - First Covid Christmas 2020
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On a Warm Winter Day
On a warm (50 degrees) winter day (December 13th) in 2020 just before Christmas we found some elves in the back parking lot! Our Apple Valley Brass Ensemble was recording their music for the live-stream Christmas Mass. What a delight! Here's the link - they start at 54:33. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FpGgfoJkMH8
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Saint Elizabeth of Hungary
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Elevator - Expanded Access to Church Hall
In January 2021 work was completed on a project that included the installation of an elevator (operating between the church worship space and the church hall) and a family accessible bathroom in the church hall. The elevator is located in the area of the old Saint Elizabeth of Hungary Alcove and the old church hall pantry. As a result, our Saint Elizabeth of Hungary Alcove has been relocated to the old confessional area across from our Mary Alcove. And our church hall pantry has been relocated to the space adjacent to the church hall kitchen.
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Arrival in church hall
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Elevator entrance in Worship Space
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Entrance to Elevator in Church Hall
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Saint Elizabeth of Hungary
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Family Accessible Bathroom
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Pantry Relocated
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Pantry View into Kitchen
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Saint Elizabeth of Hungary
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Outdoor Gardens
In 2021 a team of teens under the direction of an adult volunteer and our Pastor worked to reclaim areas overgrown primarily with buckthorn and other weeds around the Residence and in front of the old rectory. Space was reclaimed, ornamental trees were pruned and shaped, mulch was laid and new plantings were put in place.
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Cleaned-up Pine Area in front of Residence
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Before Pruning
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Re-planted area near Basketball Net
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After Pruning
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Shed Power-washed and Stained
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