Ministry to Spanish Speakers Expanding

Welcome Fr. Tomas
Months ago, Fr. Tomas Sergio Zamora Calderon, a priest from Nicaragua was helping to lead a group of youth from Nicaragua who were taking a missionary/pilgrimage trip abroad.  When it came time to come back to Nicaragua, he was not allowed to return to his country.  Exiled, he sought asylum in the United States with some relatives in Cincinnati, who attended Holy Trinity’s Spanish-speaking ministry. Those who know the political climate in Nicaragua know that civil authorities are being merciless to the Catholic Church.  I know that there is at least one bishop who is imprisoned by the civil government. 
His case for asylum is very good, since his very life is threatened by the government in Nicaragua and he has been working through his application.  He has been granted faculties to function as a priest by the Archdiocese of Cincinnati and has even received an assignment to live and minister at Our Lady of Rosary in Green Hills, where there is a very sizable Spanish-speaking population. 

Wonderfully, I asked the archdiocese and Fr. Alex McCullough, pastor at OLR whether we might be able to employ Fr. Tomas two weekends a month to increase our current two monthly Spanish Masses to a Mass in Spanish every week.  Permission has been granted and Fr. Tomas wants to help.

Therefore, beginning last weekend, Holy Trinity will have an 11:00 Mass in Spanish every weekend!  Welcome Fr. Tomas and thanks to Crescent parishioners who recognize the importance of bi-lingual liturgies and especially to parishioners who step out of their comfort zone to attend an 11:00 Mass in Spanish!

Another Mistake
I regret that I have, yet again, made a mistake regarding the possibility of selling the acreage at St. Saviour.  As numerous pastoral council members at St. Saviour intuited, the estimated yearly $15,000 cost to mow the five acres seemed inflated.  The cost appears to be more in the range of $3,000 to $7,000.  I am sorry for my mistake.

While this is a significant mistake, my ultimate point remains the same.  We can keep the acreage for no apparent reason for another thirty years.  That will amount to a loss of many tens of thousands of dollars.  However, if we sell the land now and allow that money to bear interest, we will gain many tens of thousands of dollars.  People gifted in finance can work to determine whether interest gained on a sale now would outstrip potential appreciation of the property. 

NOP and PLT
The Name Our Parish (NOP) committee has completed the great majority of its work at this point.  They have met numerous times.  They have

• put together a process for assisting the Parish Leadership Team (PLT) in recommending a name for our new parish.
• Asked parishioners to suggest potential names for our new parish along with reasons for their suggestions.
• Requested pastoral council members offer as individuals their preferences from the list of over eighty suggested names.
• Been making reports to pastoral councils and PLT about progress
• Created and offered many spreadsheets analyzing data

The NOP committee members who can attend PLT meetings when naming is on the agenda will continue to assist PLT in deliberations over the next months, as the number of possible names is narrowed to five.  The PLT has recommended that due to summer months and vacations, we wait until September to seek feedback from parishioners about those five names.

Thanks for Trust
Thanks to parishioners who pray for this process and our leaders.  Special thanks to parishioners who pray to have personal trust in the process and who are excited and positive about this and all dimensions of Beacons of Light.
 
Not Liking and Winners and Losers
One of the PLT members remarked recently that they don’t like any of the names offered!  Yet, at the same time, they know and trust in Jesus and the Spirit that all will be well.  Their comment reminded me of the people I know who don’t like their own names!!  In such a case, a middle name or a nickname can be used.  I expressed concern to that same PLT member well before the naming process started that I feared that the process of naming could be divisive, creating winners and losers, and that saddened my heart.

Indeed, most of us don’t choose our names.  I think there is a humbling wisdom in that.  For sure, with over eighty names offered for our parish, some will not be wild about the name chosen.  At the same time, who we are, how we live and what the Lord enables us to do “makes a name” for us.  May we bear that in mind even as we are naming our parish.  As well, may we choose to make hope, trust and charity in Christ a part of that name.

Sincerely and with Love in Christ,
Fr. Pat