First, let me start by thanking all our volunteers in each of our parishes, both those who have been involved long-term and those who are more recent. All who help at the individual parishes of St. Joseph, St. James, and St. John the Baptist, as well as to those who have been active and supportive in the Tri-Parish CCNCC network, are very much appreciated. While there are many people who have been helpful, Iíd like to point out two people from St. James. (In future articles, I will highlight the good work of parishioners from SJTB and St. Joseph).
Of special note this week, I want to thank and recognize Edgar Acevedo and Nancy Carrizales of St. James, who have served for many years in a number of capacities, starting well before my tenure here. As many of you know, Edgar was the chair of the council at St. James for several years and then one of the two representatives to the Tri-Parish Pastoral Council until his tenure expired last June. Unfortunately, no one was willing to take on that responsibility, so he continued in that role until recently. I want to recognize him for all he has done and for staying on for this extra time. Nancy was the other representative to the TriParish Pastoral Council and was unable to take the chair of the St. James council when Edgar's term expired. However, Nancy has been very involved in many other areas as well, and hardly looks for recognition. She was instrumental in getting the tri-parish website (www.ccnccparishes.org) up and running (and maintained since its inception); she helped Beth Lenahan with the creation and publication of the new tri-parish bulletin, and so much more. So, to both Edgar and Nancy - long overdue recognition and sincere gratitude!
With all things, change is inevitable - this past Sunday, after many months of prayerful discernment, I decided that a new direction is needed with the current structure of our councils, and I briefly met with the St. James council. At that time, I announced that I would be creating a new advisory committee and newer members from the St. James community/council were invited to join. (I will also be meeting with representatives from St. John's and St. Joseph's to discuss the advisory committee change as well.)
These Advisory Committees will help in looking to the future and explore how best to work on the topics that have been raised from the Listening Sessions. Each Advisory Committee will have two representatives on the Tri-Parish Pastoral Council. I believe this new structure will help us move forward in the CCNCC as the one Faith Community that Fr. George envisioned and started ten years ago.
As I hope you know, the Tri-Parish Pastoral Council is made up of representatives of each parish along with the trustees from each
of the parishes.
The role of the Tri-Parish Pastoral Council is to help focus on the future of the Tri-Parish network as well as the future of the individual parishes. From what I have gained from the Listening Sessions so far, I think we have made some progress in the CCNCC, but there is more work to be done. I look forward to continuing the journey with new advisors, new volunteers with innovative ideas and with new faces on the Tri-Parish Pastoral Council.
Thank you again to all our volunteers and ministers, past, present, and future, for helping make our parishes and now our
CCNCC what it is and producing ideas to continue our faith journey together. The next major step is the safety and security of all
our visitors and parishioners.
God Bless, Fr. Steve
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