Dear Parishioners,
 
Last weekend, we celebrated a wonderful Cornerstone Retreat with the women of our parish.  The retreat began on Friday, June 4^th at 6 pm. That, of course, was the Friday with all the rain and so we decided to have our initial gathering and meal in the  narthex.  Including our team, we had a combined 40 women who spent some time getting to know each other and beginning their time together with an inspiring talk.  The ladies then had  a delicious dinner and I left them around 8:30 pm where they continued the bonding.  Saturday was a glorious day with a slight breeze as we all sat under a tent generously donated and erected by Steve and Barb Santos along with their son Robbie.  Again, we had a time of reflection, talks were given by some of the leadership ladies, discussion, music and simply growing  together in faith.  In the late afternoon, Fr. Hubert and I were available for confessions and the retreat concluded with 5 pm mass. During the Mass, I blessed the ladies’ bracelets, a  memento of their wonderful time together and a reminder of God’s presence in their lives.  I look forward to the follow-up night on June 24^th.  Our new cornerstone sisters really enjoyed the experience of getting to know other faith-filled Catholic women and I was thrilled to see both new friendships blossom and the gift of new leadership being made available for the  future.  There were a lot of moving parts to this weekend, a big thank to our new Co-directors, Pam and Maureen and to our  leadership team, Barb, Aliki, April,  Diane, and Diana, for the hard work and planning that made this retreat such a success.  Special thanks also to Denise, MaryAnn, Val and Sharon for their love and support. Our sacristan, Rhonda provided beautiful flowers and table arrangements.  Our custodian, Mike and Tom worked hard to ensure everything was in place.  At the end of the retreat, I remembered our early planning sessions several months ago when we were wearing masks and many  people were still apprehensive. I give thanks to God that we trusted in the Holy Spirit and by the time that this weekend came to  reality, we were vaccinated, mask-less and joyfully able to be together in fraternity. 
 
As you are aware last weekend, the Bishop reinstated the  obligation for Catholics to attend mass physically again.  The  exceptions to this, of course, are those who are vulnerable,  living with other vulnerable family members or the elderly.  I will continue to offer the 11:30 am Sunday mass and the
9 am daily mass virtually for those who are homebound and  our many parishioners who attend our masses virtually from  different parts of the country and outside of the U.S.   We  include them always in our prayers and thoughts.  For those families living within the parish area who are sheltering at home, please reach out to me if you would like to have an  extraordinary minister bring you Holy Communion on a  regular basis.
 
Last weekend we passed out Mass Intention forms for  living and deceased intentions for our dads. Fr. Hubert and I would like to offer mass intentions next weekend, and we ask that  you return your forms no later than Tuesday, June 15.
 
During these days, Maureen and I are reviewing our CCD and Confirmation programs.  We were very pleased  with our  programs this past academic year, despite COVID.  If you have any ideas or comments, please email Maureen or me in the coming days.  I was very pleased to make Mass the center of all of our programs and hope in the coming year to continue to work on the academic formation and outreach program and a Class Mass in which each class would be responsible for being ushers, readers and gift bearers on a regular basis. 
 
Our Special Needs team will meet on Monday, June 21 to  review our activities for the coming year. I was thrilled last  Sunday to welcome our Special Needs friends around the altar for the Consecration. Their love for Christ was obvious to all. Many of our livestreaming parishioners commented on the joy of seeing these beautiful children of God so elated in the  presence of the Blessed Sacrament. 
 
As we approach the middle of June, I hope we can all slow down, relax and enjoy the beautiful summer weather. 
 
Fr. Owen