Greetings in Christ, all!
Every summer since I got here, I pick some outdoor projects to work on on my day off. It helps me to do physical labor and it saves the parish some money while knocking out jobs.
This year I’ve gone after our handicap ramp into the rectory. It was rotted out and not usable. Apparently, it was installed when our current rectory was an office and required a handicap ramp. In the ensuing years, it had become unusable and dangerous. So, I ripped it out, disposed of the wood and planted grass where the ramp was. It was a lot of work and sweat and a lot of fun.
We also had a concrete set of stairs that were dangerous and unusable because of drainage. I took a sledgehammer to the concrete and broke a lot of it up and we’re working on putting a stable set of stairs there to replace it.
Finally, you may have noticed that the west/south corner of the rectory had grown over with vines. The vines were messing up the brickwork and trying to grow into the windows so I was able to tear those out.
I’ve got a few other projects like this that are fun for me and save some money for our parish. I always check my work with our maintenance guy, Mark, to make sure I’m doing things that help and don’t get in his way. He has more work on his plate than any one man should, God bless him, so I’m glad this helps him focus on the more pressing things.
Next week I hit the beginning of my seventh year here. I moved here on July 1st of 2018. No kidding, I’ve never lived this long in one place since 1992. My previous record was six years in my last assignment and before that, it was every year or every other year that I moved…whew. This is actually my first assignment where I unpacked everything!
So, I just want to thank you for letting me be your priest. It means the world to me. It is not an exaggeration to say that I thank God for being here every morning.
Thank you for your patience and kindness with my limitations. Thank you for supporting me in taking care of my Dad. Thank you for praying for me.
I love you all. I thank Jesus for you.
Fjk