Let me renew an exhortation that I share from time to time, because we can all use a reminder. I grew up living in a court and the unwritten law of the land was that you didn’t park in front of your neighbor’s house. This seems to be a ’suburbs thing.’ I do recall how annoyed I was when folks parked in front of our house. Sometimes it seemed intentional, like when there was a spot open in front of their own house. I had to learn to ‘offer it up,’ as we all learn to deal with being human and annoying one another.

Ok, now St. Mary’s. We are surrounded on all sides by a residential neighborhood. And as good neighbors, we must be aware that our parking needs can and sometimes do annoy our neighbors. If you worry that you can’t go to the store on weekends because there will be no parking near your home when you return, yeah…. that is difficult.

There are times when our parking spills out into the neighborhood, and becomes a pain point for our neighbors. As pastor I have tried to address that in part by adding Masses at Holy Cross Academy, especially on our most congested days. We have the tradition of celebrating Easter at the Expo Center. And the City recently added spaces along William Street to help with extra parking.

Additionally, sometimes we are so full of the Holy Spirit at the end of the Mass that we want to fly…. and we fly out of the parking lot with the speed of the eagles. We must not drive through residential side- streets in a manner that is not safe. There have been accidents on William Street!

What can we all do?

1. Please use the parking lot as much as possible. Many folks park along other residential streets when there are still plenty of parking spaces in the lot (obviously b/c it allows for a quicker departure and not having to deal with the lot).

2. When you do park on residential streets, be sure that you are parking where it is permitted! For example, weekday parking is residential only on certain streets. Law enforcement has a duty to ticket this behavior and often does!

3. When you encounter neighbors, remember that you represent Jesus and His Catholic Church!

4. When you drive on residential streets, especially Stafford Avenue, remember this is a neighborhood with children at play.

Let’s be good neighbors, as charity begins with the Lord, and continues as we exit the parking lot and into all of our daily lives.

pax,

Father John Mosimann