Dear Friends,

The days of summer pass very quickly! These are days when we set time aside to visit family and friends, take some vacation time, renew ourselves in the warmth of God's great love. These are days for walks along the beach, picnics, cookouts, reading a good book. For some people these days are set aside to do some catch up work on some work that we just haven't been able to get to as yet. It always strikes me that even in the summer when the pace of life can be somewhat slower we always seem to fill the space with other activities. Hopefully all of us find the time to be renewed and do some of the things that we truly enjoy doing throughout the days of summer.

Throughout these weeks the parish has been working on some projects. The work on the Parish Center is underway. The windows have been replaced and in a few weeks the work on the roof, exterior walls and sidewalks will be completed. We will also be repairing the parking lot and removing the fence along Manorhaven Blvd. The floor in the Parish Center is in poor condition and will be replaced as well. We are investigating the possibility of air conditioning the Parish with a more efficient system than the window units that are inefficient, noisy and costly. Our Parish Center is an integral part of our parish life. It has served us very well throughout the years and will continue to do so for many more years. The cost for the work on the Parish Center is being covered by parish reserves.

We are also working on what is called a Covenant Booklet for the members of our Parish Leadership Community. This booklet explains the process that we have been working toward since the Parish and Assessment Renewal that Fr. Tom Sweetser and Wendy Rappe led us through last fall. It focuses on the work of the five Commissions: Administration, Worship, Formation, Parish Outreach, and Community Life. It describes the work of the Pastoral Council and the process of SHARED WISDOM. It explains the role of the Parish Staff in this model of leadership and the place of the Pastoral Council. Hopefully work on the Covenant Booklet will be complete by October and distributed to the members of the Leadership Community by the November meeting.

We are also working on a Parish MINISTRY DIRECTORY, which will describe each of our different parish ministries and provide all parishioners with an opportunity to become more involved in parish life. The Ministry Directory will have a history of the parish as well as other useful information for all the members of our parish.

In the fall we will continue to have a conversation about the work that has to be done in our church. The windows have been repaired and the altar furnishings have been refinished and repaired. The next step in the three year program is to repair the pews, the floors, paint the walls and ceilings and do work in the sanctuary area. After Labor Day two of our parishioners will speak at Mass about the work that has to be done in the church. The final phase of the project involves the wing area of the church. We use the wing for the 11:30 AM Mass each Sunday. The space in the wing can be better utilized.

I want to thank all the members of our Garden Committee who have created our beautiful garden and have worked hard throughout the summer to keep the garden in such great shape. The garden is a great place to sit and be still at different times of the day!  In addition to caring for the garden, all the flower beds around the church are tended to by members of the Garden Committee.        

Fr. Andy celebrate his 81 st birthday on July 30th . He spends most of the week with his brother, Pat, in Westbury. He continues to preside at one of the Masses on Sunday morning. Fr. Jose Quilcate, who is an Associate Pastor at St. Ignatius in Hicksville has been presiding at the Spanish Eucharist on Saturday evenings at 7:00 PM. Fr. Jose is from Peru. He has been ordained for eleven years and has been assigned as Associate Pastor at St. Ignatius for nine years. I am very grateful that he has been able to help us out.

In January Our Lady of Fatima entered in an agreement with St. Ignatius Retreat Center to share a Youth Minister with two other parishes. Veronica Ticas who is on the staff of the Retreat House is the Youth Minister for our parish as well as St. Aloysius and Corpus Christi. She has been very busy is getting Youth Ministry off the ground in our parish as well as in St. Aloysius and Corpus Christi. The Youth Ministry meets twice a month, usually in the Parish Center on a Wednesday evening from 7:00 PM until 8:30 PM.

Don't forget that our Annual Parish Picnic is set for Sunday, September 18th at Manorhaven Park. We start at 11:30 AM with the celebration of Mass in the park and continue with a great cookout and games for all the children. On September 24th we will have our Garage Sale starting at 8:00 AM in the Parish Center. Plans are being made for an Inter-Faith Memorial Service to he held on September 11th to mark the tenth anniversary of 9/11/01.

In September we will begin preparing for the new Missal that will be introduced on the First Sunday of Advent (November 26th ) in all the parishes in the United States. It's going to be somewhat awkward in the beginning since we have been using the current Sacramentary for almost forty years! The new Missal has been in preparation for many years and after many revisions is ready to be introduced this coming Advent. There will be explanations at the Masses before the new Missal is introduced as well as opportunities for parishioners to gather together for conversation about the new Missal. There will be new prayers to learn and new music settings to be learned.

I have been trying to read up on the importance of the many new forms of communication for reaching out to  parishioners who might be very connected with the new technologies. I hope to gather some parishioners together and talk about how we might be able to better use the technology that is now available for evangelization. The Administration Commission, a part of the Leadership Community, has recommended that the parish form a Communication Committee that reviews our Focus, WEB site, parish mailings, and consider other alternatives that might be more effective in reaching more members of the parish.

In June we celebrated a Family Mass praying for God's blessings throughout the days of summer. In September we will celebrate the Family Mass once again asking God to bless a new school year. The Family Mass will be celebrated on the First Sunday of each month at 10:00 AM (with the exception of September). All the parishioners are invited to celebrate the Family Mass.

Over the past few months a new Ministry has come to life in the parish. It is called CARING HANDS and helps our parish stay in contact with the members of  the parish who are sick or homebound. We are also working on setting up a Ministry of Consolation to help families grieving the death of a loved one. We are also working on setting up a Baptism Ministry to help parents prepare for the baptism of their child.

In May, Bishop Paul Walsh visited Our Lady of Fatima to meet with parishioners and the members of our Parish Staff and Parish Leadership Community, Pastoral Council, Finance Council and other Parish Advisory Boards. He was with us for Saturday and Sunday and afterwards prepared a report for Bishop Murphy. Just a few weeks ago Bishop Murphy sent a letter acknowledging all the good work that is being done in our parish through so many of our parishioners who share their time and the faith in so many different ways.

I pray that these weeks of August will fill you with great peace and grace! Please remember to pray for peace in our troubled world and for all those who are in such great need. Please remember to pray for our parish.

Peace,
Fr. Steve