Read this week's message from Father Don
Dear friends
To grow in the Christian life various things are required - personal prayer and regular worship for a start, but others things as well.
Growing up, I was encouraged by my Baptist mother to get involved with the life of the church. “If you love the Lord, you must serve him,” she said. So I helped out with the church parties, did gardening for the retired minister J.J. Clarke, performed puppet shows at the orphanage and acted in numerous skits. This experience formed my understanding of the faith and persuaded me of the truth of my mother’s saying. To really know the Lord, you need to get actively involved with church volunteering.
This Lent the parish is offering a great opportunity for you to become involved with simple practical “do-able” works of charitable service, both inside and outside the parish. Are you willing to run errands for house-bound parishioners? Do you have the ability to repair plumbing in the home of a senior on a fixed income? Can you assist with occasional work parties on the parish site?
There are so many needs in the community. All that is lacking are volunteers willing to lend a hand for an hour or two a month. Not only is this a charitable thing to do but it is personally enriching.
Volunteers get to meet new people and try new things and, through this, they start to see the world in a new way, Jesus’ way. He observed in the gospel of Luke (4.38) “the measure you give is the measure you get back… a good measure, packed together, overflowing, will be poured into your lap.”
Here is a central principle of the Christian faith: Jesus cares for us so that we can care for others.
Over the next few Sundays, you will hear more about this parish volunteering initiative and on March 19-20 there will be an opportunity for you to make a commitment to participate in some simple charity activities in and around the parish.
Love Fr Don