I was working out of our Woodbridge, NJ office this past week and technical problems prevented me from being able to get to any blogger.com sites. Needless to say, I was "jones-ing". How utterly pathetic is that?
Anyway, since early August I've been involved in a fairly intense project at work that has involved almost weekly travel. The good news is that the heavy-lifting part of the project is now over with; while there may be some clean-up work to do, I don't expect any more "gone every week" situations in the near future.
Much to comment on (Rush Limbaugh bashes people for a living then cries like a jilted 13 year old when others, gasp, bash him) and much to read, all of which will be covered in good time.
On a more pleasant note, a note of congratulations and best wishes to Father Dave Bechtel on his new assignment as an assistant pastor at Saint Joseph the Worker Parish in Williamsport. You see Father, not only do receive the Catholic Light (I have for many, many years by the way), but I actually read it too!
3 comments:
Hi Steve!
You recieve the Catholic Fright? I mean Light? Thank you for your congrads!
Yes, I have been assigned as assistant pastor. Ironically everything came full circle. I was originally supposed to be the assistant pastor but things got changed last minute becasue the priest assigned to East Stroudsburg University could not go there. Both the pastor and myself when the Diocese was searching for an assistant for the parish sort of indicated that the logical thing to do would just be to assign me as the assistant. The reality is that though I did not have that title when I came- I was functioning as the assistant pastor anyway.
Steve- I love the assignment and I hope I have it a while, but it is not ideal. You see- what would be ideal is if priests (not only myself) could dedicate themselves to one assignment, and one church. In this way the people of God would be better served becasue we would not be divided between assignments. I love the school and I love my parish- but I can't serve either as fully as I want becasue I am divided between them!
When priests are divided between assignments, the people are not best served. This is precisely why the bishop moved to reorganize the Diocese- to prevent stuff like this. Steve- I say that just to show you- we need young men to hear God's call and dedicate themselves to His service as priests.
At the same time until we solve the vocations crisis, and the financial crisis, we need the people to understand that the parish closings are in their BEST INTEREST. When you lack resources, the best thing to do is consolodate and combine them. Hopefully when this is all said and done, the people will understand the bishop always had their best interests at heart. We don't want to "make due" we want permenante, lasting, and meaningful solutions.
I'm sorry you had to go to New Jersey
Father Bechtel...Your point about priests having one assignment to one church makes a lot of sense. For many, "church" is more than a building...it's a true community that deserves and really needs a full-time leader. I also agree with your point about church closings. While I have been very critical about HOW retired Bishop Martino conducted the actual closing of churches, I never questioned the logic behind the closings themselves.
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