COVID Visits

As I finished my day two Wednesdays ago and prepared to take my day off the followingday, I started to experience the nasal congestion and scratchy throat that told me the possibility of a summer cold was in my future. As the cold blossomed, I made sure I tested for COVID.
Sure enough, Thursday night I tested positive for COVID. Therefore, hopefully, as I became contagious I was not with parishioners or staff. Saturday was my worst day, with no more symptoms than a healthy head cold. We were able to secure substitute priests for my two
Church of the Resurrection Masses and I worked from my rectory office. It was a pleasure to get some housework done while I worked in the rectory and spend more time than usual with my cats! I returned to in-person duties in the parish offices this past Tuesday. I regret missing greeting students and parents on the first day of school at Nativity.  Also, we postponed our Tuesday Crescent Parish staff meeting by one week to ensure the safety of staff. It seems the COVID virus is active in our region. It would be wise to remind ourselves of COVID protocols if we are sick, be tested for COVID and isolate if testing positive. Parishioners who are at risk are encouraged to mask at Mass or remain at home, aware that the obligation to attend Mass is abrogated (done away with) for serious reasons.

Collection for Disaster Relief in Maui
The Office of the Archbishop sent a notice a week ago requesting that parishes offer parishioners an opportunity to contribute to relief efforts in Maui. For those who wish to do so, you can make an offering in an envelope marked Maui Relief and drop it in a Crescent Collection or go to the link www.catholiccharitiesusa.org/?form=hawaii23 and make an
electronic gift.

Second Collection Related to Ohio Legalizing Abortion
Thanks to parishioners who read the letter from Archbishop Schnurr in the bulletin last weekend. We will run that periodically over the next months. One of archbishop's principal points in the article, one I made several weeks ago, is that the value of separation of church and state is a value of our approach to governance in the U.S. It is not a law or principle that says people of faith must divorce their faith from the political realm.  When a political issue neglects or endangers “vulnerable humans—immigrants, the poor, preborn children” we are called to act in defense of the defenseless. He states further “The Church must not remain on the sidelines when confronted with such a clear threat to human life and dignity and the primacy of the family.”
For those who wish to act in defense of human life and dignity we will have a second collection in Crescent Parishes on September 10, next weekend. Proceeds of the collection will be divided equally between the vetted pregnancy centers in our archdiocese and Protect
Women Ohio. Protect Women Ohio is the coalition of which the Archdiocese, all Catholic dioceses in Ohio, the Catholic Conference of Ohio (the formal conference of Ohio Bishop’s) and other religious groups and pro-life organizations have formed to promote the defeat of the proposed amendment this November.  For more information the link to the coalition is https://protectwomenohio.com. 
For those who wish to contribute to one or the other, please put it in a separate envelope labeled “pregnancy centers” or “Protect Women Ohio.”

The Genesis of Gender
Please see the information below about the upcoming lifelong faith formation book study that I will lead. You can also look back at last week’s bulletin article. The book is not an easy read, however, it is very doable and inspiring. Also, the six-week study is spread over three months, rather than six straight weeks, making for more time to read and reflect.

Sincerely and with Love in Christ,
Fr. Pat