August 8, 2020 - Pastor Message
04/25/2024YEAR OF DISCIPLESHIP INTERGENERATIONAL DISCIPLESHIP “Then children were brought to Jesus that he might lay his hands on them and pray. The disciples rebuked them, but Jesus said, ‘Let the children come to me, and do not prevent them; for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these’” (Matthew 19:13 14).
Continuing this month’s theme on intergenerational discipleship, one of the biggest blessings we will miss this summer is the opportunity our summer festival gives for disciples of all ages from our parish to come together in the service of our shared mission. While we normally think of our festivals as fundraisers, which they are, just as important, even more so, is their community building aspect. We come together as grandparents, parents, children and neighbors of all ages, working side-by-side to invite and welcome our entire community into our spiritual home and show them the joy and love we share as disciples of Christ here at St. Boniface, and we grow closer together with Christ and each other in the process. To me, that is the most important benefit of our festivals, and it pains me that we will miss that this summer.
But all is not lost. As the people of St. Boniface so often do, we have rallied together to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat and to adapt to and overcome the challenges that COVID19 has placed in our way. Disciples of all ages have pulled together to organize a summer raffle in place of the festival. Thanks to the wisdom and experience of our more veteran parishioners, many of the regular features we have come to know and love about our festival raffles and basket auction have been preserved and adapted to the current circumstances. Thanks to the creativity of our younger parishioners, we have expanded our offerings and access to reach more people, even when they can’t be here in person, including utilizing online resources and our new Tshirt sale. And it’s not over yet. Parishioners of all ages will still be on the job Sunday, August 9, from 10:00 AM 1:00 PM in the Coleman Center to allow visitors to come and view the prizes and purchase tickets and Tshirts, and we will be livestreaming the drawing for the big ticket items and main prize at 2:00 PM thanks to the tech savviness of our younger parishioners.
Yes, it is sad that we were unable to do the summer festival this year. But we are blessed to have faithful parishioners, disciples from all ages and walks of life, who have still come together in faithful service of our parish mission to pull off a summer raffle. Thank you to all who have helped or will help in any way to make our raffle a success, and God bless and good luck to all of you in the drawings!
Fr. Marc Stockton
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