Thanks from Fr. Dan!!!

Dear Parish Family,

Without getting too dramatic, I want to express how full my heart is with gratitude to God during this first week of Easter as I reflect on Lent and Holy Week in our parish. I want to thank so many people for generously sharing their time and talent to make such an experience so very beautiful.

The decorating by Sharon Leskanic and her team at Holy Martyrs, Dottie Stackpole and her team at Sacred Heart, Pat Dunn and her team at St. Gregory and Brenda Howard and her team at St. Jude were amazing with transforming our places from Lent into Easter. I want to thank Jen Runge and her staff and choirs at all four places who helped to make these celebrations prayerful. The musicians did a lot to prepare for the multiple celebrations that happen multiple nights in a row. Volunteers worked hard preparing, serving and cleaning up after our parish meals on Holy Thursday under the direction of Mark Held at Holy Martyrs and Paul Trainer at St. Gregory.

I would also like to extend a great thanks to our readers, altar servers, eucharistic ministers, ushers and collectors. It was nice to see parishioners jump in and do whatever needed to be done.

Finally, this year, I really need to express my great appreciation and admiration for our parish staff. Together they worked to make everything happen while I was sick, and I believe it went smoother than if I had been involved. Thank You!

As you can see, there is an army of volunteers who came together to serve God and the parish by preparing for and celebrating the Highest of Holy Days of the suffering, death and resurrection of our Lord. We are a fortunate parish in many ways, and celebrations such as the Triduum remind me of how lucky I am to be considered part of it all.