Saint Mary of the Immaculate Conception Roman Catholic Church

Dear Good People of Saint Mary,

As you know this bulletin goes to the printer nearly a week before it is distributed at Mass, so there are still a lot of good-byes to come between me writing this and you getting it.

I’m not sure how to begin to thank you for 14 years. We certainly have filled our days with a lot going on and have grown together as a family. Thanks for being such a good family.

A lot of people have been asking what are the highlights for me. There have been many. That year that a few thousand of you turned out for our picnic/150th anniversary celebration with fireworks was definitely one. I remember almost as fondly Masses with the mid-construction folding chairs facing the altar in front of the cry room, as our beautiful church today. Some of you may not agree, it was the hottest summer on record and not a lot of air conditioning. Certainly the night we celebrated the dedication of our new altar in the newly-renovated church with Bishop Loverde was a profoundly important moment for us and a most beautiful memory.

I think our process with the Stewardship Committee, creating a new charter for growing leadership in the parish and promoting collaboration was an important  moment. It has something unique to our parish, and led to so many of you—600?—to the Called and Gifted Workshops seeking to become intentional disciples. Listening to you speak about how that program has changed your life, spiritually and socially, has been very satisfying. One of the first things I will do at Saint Bernadette is see if there might be a core of parishioners who will come to the Saint Mary Called and Gifted Workshop in August. The work continues!

And every time I witness our soon-to-be young men and women graduate from Holy Cross Academy I am reminded of all that is good about our mission to educate and form our community, especially in these recent years as I have watched some of them grow from our Preschool through eighth grade. I am grateful for such generous and committed families who allow us to work with them in helping to bring God’s life of grace alive in their children.

I remember our first Parish Council meeting. Our first Ice Cream Social Cakewalk and Dance. Our first Parish Night Out. All those great parish trips, especially being able to introduce you to the Holy Land several times. Of course, there were plenty rough times, too—which have allowed us to continue to grow. That line I quoted in my homily last weekend stays with me: to live Calvary never doubting Easter is the devotion of a true disciple.

Next weekend we welcome Fr. John Mosimann and newly-ordained Fr. Colin Davis. Time for some fresh air and new ideas, and an experience of someone else’s spiritual journey, to journey together. Pope Francis continually challenges us to focus on the journey together, not so much on the details of the road, but where and how we are going together. To provide guidance and support for each other as the journey continues.

Thanks in advance for the beautiful reception at Holy Cross Friday night. For the many gifts I’ve already received from Holy Cross Academy, our Parish Staff, and many of you who have made me feel so appreciated as a member of this parish family. Thanks to you, my brothers and sisters in ministry here in the parish who have been involved in so many things over the years, working together, and in all the churches of Fredericksburg who have become dear friends and taught me how to be co

Most of all I want to thank the finest parish staff, a privilege to work with. All of them pastoral, caring people who are dedicated to their work and a few who really stand out: Our good Sisters whose presence and spirituality have defined the school and much of the parish in our daily life; David and the beauty and prayer that he helps us realize in liturgy; our priests; Elaine, the best bookkeeper in the diocese; Leo and our youth program, and Karen and the way she cares so much for our young people in Religious Education; above all, Rick, whose faith and support have carried me through difficulty and sometimes doubt, and who has worked harder for God than anyone I’ve ever known.

Peace to all of you, I plan to see you around.

God bless you.

Dear Good People of Saint Mary,

Thanks for a great picnic! We had a great day and a record turnout. The food was great, the music was beautiful, and despite the heat it wasn’t humid and a wonderful breeze prevailed all afternoon. I’m glad so many came out to Holy Cross Academy to experience our big parish family event of the year.

Thanks to our Knights of Columbus, our Council of Catholic Women, our school PTO and volunteers of all parish ministries who came together to give us such a  beautiful afternoon together. I smiled every time reading the announcement for the Parish Picnic and Family Fun Day because few probably know the back story any more. When I came here in October 2002, it was just as the regional sniper shootings were taking place, remember? That year the Knights canceled the Parish Picnic, which was then a separate event from the HCA Family Fun Day at the end of the school year. When we came to the spring in 2003, it just seemed normal to begin combining the two, as a sign of  parish unity between school and parish, something that we needed to intentionally promote in those days. Today Holy Cross Academy is an integral part of our parish life and we are so grateful to  the Oblate Sisters and all our school teachers and staff for their sacrifices in caring for our parish children. Of all the blessings I’ve known  here at Saint Mary, that school is one of the greatest and I have come to know our Sisters as if they were my sisters. Always cherish their presence here, and care for them. And pray for vocations. Like Bishop Keating, I had promised them numerous vocations from Saint Mary while here, and I didn’t come through! Keep praying for them and their beautiful order of Sisters, for young women who are brave and can become holy community leaders to help shepherd God’s children.

This week we offer special thanks to Fr. Lino and his years at Saint Mary, and wish him joy. Father, may God continue to bless your ministry.

Last weekend was rough, as we announced the changes. I appreciate the outpouring of love and good will, and will miss this place like no other before in my life. It was true when I said that I’ve never “attached” to a place as I have done here. I feel as though I’m leaving home. We’ve shared a lot of life—good things and bad, fireworks and construction, baptisms, weddings and funerals— and I am grateful for your letting me be a part of your family. Such a great parish—and now it is up to you and Father Mosimann to carry it forward. Don’t leave it up to someone else to make your home a place where you want to be.

There is a message in all of this for you young people, too—graduates, even young adults. Take care of your interior life, your heart with God. Don’t leave the direction of your life up to chance, or to strangers. They don’t know you, and probably don’t know what is good for you. The world is confused. Spend some time each day working on your relationship with Jesus. We have a family, we gather with God regularly and come together in celebration and service, and in the process we come to know who we are. We  are formed on the rock of Christ’s Church, an we have encountered God in so many ways. New life comes only from him. There is no need to drift away, or to decide for some reason that it all doesn’t matter. It does, very much. I hope by now you know that you always have a home here. I plan to be around, now and then, to rely on roots that I have found in Fredericksburg.

I have watched you change over these years from a parish that was preoccupied with self to a family who looks outward and transforms even the community around you. The community loves Saint Mary and knows us as authentic partners in prayer and service, in Christ’s name. Continue to be a light to Fredericksburg.

There are two main themes we have returned to repeatedly: mercy and discipleship. Approach every person in reverence for God who made them, whose imprint they bear, act both as he would act in you toward others and, encountering them, how you would approach him in them with awe. Together, go out use your authentic gifts and serve Christ in every person, and let them know that it is Christ in you who serves them. In this way we are not only living the Gospel, we are the living Gospel.

Remember: God uses all things to stretch our hearts to be able to love more. I have felt so loved here at Saint Mary, it is now time to love your new pastor even more.

God bless you.

Dear Good People of Saint Mary,

We come to the end of another school year and  there is always a moment when you get to stop and just take a moment to think where we have  been and where we are going. I was  outside  working this week and just stepped inside the church to take a minute to greet the Lord, and sat down and just looked around. Such a beautiful,  warm place, fitting for God and fitting for us.

I came across a photo (these are rare, as we never felt inspired to take photos before, nor were photos permitted!) of the church—how it looked and how different it is now. I include it here, because for me it is a symbol of us.

I found myself overwhelmed with gratitude for all of you, the many people who make Saint Mary such an amazing place. Our vibrant parish life, commitment to worship and formation in holiness, our remarkable commitment to the wider community of Fredericksburg, our care for those in need, the hungry, the homeless. All the many Gifts you bring, gifts with which God has called you, gifts that you work to discover each day God gives us. You are the generous hearts required to keep our parish family going.

For a year of great work, it is time to give thanks to our leaders whose terms are coming to an end: our Parish Council under the leadership of Beth Merriman who is passing the role of leader to Julie Appleton; to Donna Hart and all our Stewardship Committee who continue to help our many ministries come together as one symphony and call forward the gifts that God has given our parish; to Regis Keddie and our Finance Committee who have every month kept  an eye on our temporal net worth and advised us well. And, of course, our Staff and Clergy who continue to support and be supported by our many volunteers who carry the Light of Christ forward everyday.

To you, our volunteers, a special thanks: those who work in most-often unknown ways to serve God and neighbor, particularly leaders of ministries whose work has impacted the lives of many people, known or unknown. Thanks. As the summer begins, I pray that you find a moment now and then to stop in and greet the Lord, and know the gratitude I feel. Look! says the Lord, I make all things new! You are the beauty, the brightness, the music, and the color that we have come to know in our parish home.

God bless you.