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Dear Parishioners,
On October 11th in conjunction with The Order of Malta, I will lead a Rosary Walk for Peace. This walk will begin on the grounds of St. Paul Inside the Walls and conclude on the property of St. Thomas More, Convent Station with a brief period of Adoration and Benediction. We are honored to have Bishop Kevin Sweeney lead our prayer experience. Bishop will give a brief homily as we begin our Rosary Walk for Peace. I encourage all parents, youth and children to join us as together with parishes throughout America, we pray for peace in our country and peace in our world.
Last week, we had wonderful attendance at our CCD sessions and at our teaching masses. We had one class, Mrs. Irene Suhaka’s class who attended remotely and had a good experience. I was very impressed to hear back from several children and youth with regard to my mass question and extremely pleased by their response and timely manner. I welcome back our “B” cycle CCD group this Sunday for 9:00 a.m. class followed by mass.
I am thrilled to host our Special Needs adults and young people at a tailgate party at 2:00 p.m. this afternoon. We look forward to spending time with our special friends in a safe and socially distant way. During this time, many group homes are restricting their residents from interacting with non-residents. This is definitely a necessary measure but sadly causes a sense of loneliness and isolation for many. We keep those in group homes who may feel isolated in prayer. We welcome today all of our Special Needs friends who live at home with family members and we very much look forward to being together.
Next Sunday, October 4th is the Feast of St. Francis of Assisi. On Saturday, as is tradition, I will bless the animals in our gathering space right outside of church. Please bring your big and little furry friends at 9:30 a.m. for a short prayer service and a blessing. In this beautiful tradition, we recall together St. Francis’ love of human beings, animals, birds and of course, Mother Earth. It is a great way to start off the month of October. This beautiful month when we take time to celebrate and respect life. I have appointed our new parishioner, Tom Stanley as Chair of our Respect Life Committee. You will see in the bulletin this weekend some events we have planned commemorating and celebrating life. I will speak more on the gift of life from womb to tomb in next week’s bulletin.
I am happy to announce that I have appointed Deacon Mike to be the chair of our new social outreach ministry, Hands of St. Luke. Our newly formed group will continue the good work done here at St. Luke in supporting the Washington Township Ecumenical Food Pantry. We will also support the Aged and needy in Chester. In collaboration with the Knights of Columbus, Mike Leyden attended the meeting with Maureen Murtagh and Joe Perno as well as Carlos and Chris from Catholic Charities. Our goal, as I have said, is to continue the good work that we are doing locally and at the same time partnering with the three food pantries of our diocese in Passaic, Dover and Sussex County. Before COVID, Catholic Charities distributed food to 7,000 people per month. During this time, Catholic Charities distributed food to 21,000 people. Many of those who receive food are the working poor and the undocumented who receive no benefits, have lost their jobs and risk losing their homes. I invite you my dear parishioners to see how we, as adults, youths and children can best partner with Catholic Charities and in our wonderful St. Luke tradition be the generous loving hands that Christ invites us to be.
As a reminder, our first inquiry session for RCIA will take place on Monday, October 5th at 7:00 p.m. in the parish office. Please wear a mask. If you or someone you know would like to be baptized or to receive the sacrament of Holy Eucharist or Confirmation, please contact me directly.
Fr. Owen