Dear Friends,

The Great 50 Days of the Easter season are now completed! We have once again entered into Ordinary Time. Throughout these weeks we will be invited to rest in the warmth of God's great love. Summer is quickly coming upon us as the days become longer and warmer and the earth bursts forth with new life. These days of summer always pass so quickly.

I would like to update you on what is happening in Our Lady of Fatima Parish. The first involves the work that we are planning on doing in the church and in the Parish Center . The work on the church involves three phases. We will be starting the first phase this summer. The first phase includes repairing the windows in the church (there are 26 of them) and re-finishing the furniture in the sanctuary area. This work should be completed by the end of the summer. After that we will begin the second phase which involves the floor in the church and the re-finishing of the pews. The work on the Parish Center includes the refacing of the building, some work on the roof and replacing the floor in the large meeting room. We also hope to get this work done during the summer. The work on the church has been approved by the diocese. We will be signing the contracts for the windows in the coming week. I hope to have the agreements for the Parish Center by the middle of June so that the work on the Parish Center can get underway. We also have to do work on the sidewalks. That work has been delayed until the village completes plans for a larger project involving the sidewalks along Manorhaven Blvd.

Our Lady of Fatima Parish is also involved in a process known as PARISH ASSESSMENT AND RENEWAL. This process is being led by the Parish Evaluation Project. It involves several parts. Right now we are in the first part of the process. This first phase involves a random parish survey mailed to a little more than 250 parishioners. It was also mailed to another 50 parishioners who are involved in different areas of parish life. These surveys will be mailed back to the Parish Evaluation Project as part of a report that will be prepared and presented to the parish in the fall of 2010. The first phase of the process also involves a series of "notebooks" to be completed by different parish advisory boards about the life of the parish. These are due at the end of the summer. The second part of the process involves a visitation from the director of the Parish Evaluation Project and his associate. They will visit the parish for a two week period in October. During that time they will conduct a series of interviews with parishioners and with our Parish Advisory Boards. There will be an Open Parish Meeting and two study days for parishioners involved in parish leadership. At the conclusion of the two weeks a report will be made to the parish. The report will include a series of recommendations for a long range parish plan. In March of 2011 the team from the Parish Evaluation Project will return to Our Lady of Fatima for a follow-up visit. To guide this process there is a Parish Assessment and Renewal Oversight Committee made up of nine parishioners. The process is important to us as we look to the future and create a long range pastoral plan. 

The spring is also the time we set aside for our annual TIME and TALENT STEWARDSHIP APPEAL. Please set some time aside on the weekend of June 5th and 6th and visit our MINISTRY FAIR. It will be held in the Parish Center after the Masses on Saturday evening and on Sunday. Take some time to see the many different ministries that are part of our parish life. Take some time to reflect on your own gifts and how you might share those gifts with others, either in our parish or in the wider community. We have been so gifted in so many ways. In gratitude to God we give back to others by sharing our talents and our time.

Please remember all these parish endeavors in your prayer throughout the coming weeks. Please ask our God to continue to bless our parish as we do our very best to honor our past, celebrate our present and embrace our future with great hope!

I pray for all of you. May these weeks of summer fill you with abundant grace and peace! may you truly rest in the warmth of God's great love and be renewed and refreshed throughout these coming weeks!

Peace,

Fr. Steve