9/4/2022 Father Owen&#039;s Bulletin Message

Dear Parishioners,

Time flies when you are having fun. I hope you all had a wonderful summer. I know I did. I will say, however, I am glad the weather has started to cool down. My Irish skin does not appreciate the 90 degrees weather and I particularly like to open windows and let the beautiful fresh air into my home. I hope all of you lovely parishioners who have beach homes, enjoyed the shore. I welcome you all back and look forward to a wonderful fall.

Maureen and I look forward to having our CCD parents and children to an information session on Sunday, September 11th at 9:00 am for those who attend 9:30 Mass and 10:30 for those who attend the 11:00 am Mass. I am excited to welcome our children back to class and to give you a sense of our program this coming year. Laramie Traina and Nina Dorlon are running our Middle School Ministry and I know they have fun events planned for our young people and you, their parents. Any adults who would like to volunteer in any area of ministry but particularly in relation to your children, consider yourself invited and welcome. Simply touch base with Maureen or me. Last week’s 9^th and 10^th grade information session went very well. We were pleased by the attendance and were happy to welcome Sean Jenkins, our new part-time youth minister trainee. We are off to a good start, and we look forward to a good Antioch retreat which will take place the weekend of September 30^th. Tony Amaral and the adult leadership are busily working with our youth leadership team. Last weekend, our leadership team had a wonderful retreat. I celebrated Mass for them on Saturday, August 28. The kids are filled with the spirit and are excited to welcome our new candidates. Moms and Dads, I invite you to encourage your young adult from 10^th grade through 12^th to consider coming to our Antioch retreat which will change their lives.

I am delighted to tell you that we have 28 families registered for Pre-K 3 and 4. Our little ones begin class on September 12th. They will begin their monthly Mass on September 25^th. It is always exciting to see the new children coming, a little shy but enthusiastic and then to see our Pre-K 4 with a little confidence and glad to be back. I am very proud of our director, Jeannie Soltes, and her devoted staff. If anyone has a little one, space pending, please call Pre-K directly at (908) 876 3515 ext. 8 or our email at preschool@stlukelv.org.

Every now and again, very special people come into our lives and into our hearts. A couple of years ago, Rich Gebbia joined our parish. He immediately began to serve as an extraordinary minister and reader at our 7:30 am Mass. His sincere and kind manner is appreciated by all. When I was appointed pastor over three years ago, Rich contacted Fr. Marchin (the pastor of Lady of the Mountain) and me with an offer to help coordinate masses for the Catholic residents of Heath Village in Hackettstown. He has done a superb job and thanks to him, the Catholic residents there have masses, prayer services and regular anointings of the sick which gives them great comfort in their loneliness. Rich and his wife are retiring to Delaware, and we wish them God’s blessings in their new life. I thank our parishioner, Marie Peppas who will continue in the role of coordinating ministry to the care facility.

I wish you all a peace filled and Happy Labor Day! Welcome back to schedules!

Fr. Owen