As I write this on Tuesday, November 8, I know that some of you are still suffering without power. It is my hope and prayer that by the time this goes to print (Thursday) every one of us will be reenergized, in more ways than one. It has been a difficult time for all in Connecticut and, in light of last weekend’s Gospel on being prepared, a time for all in Connecticut state leaders, businesses, and individuals to reassess our state of preparations for a natural (or unnatural) disaster. During the ongoing outage and the cold nights I couldn’t stop hearing in my head the words from the song in the musical Evita, what a state for a State to be in. Indeed.

Some things around our parish had to be postponed or cancelled due to the freak Nor’easter snow storm: the Progressive Dinner was cancelled. With Thanksgiving and the Christmas season so close we will not hold this great event this year. All prepaid registrations will be returned; Religious Education classes were cancelled for two weekends. Mrs. Bonner and our catechists will make accommodations to their schedules as far as material taught in each class. Youth Ministry events were postponed a change of dates has been issued by Mrs. Pluta. The Masses were celebrated even without a congregation. During the weekend of the storm, some 24 people attended the Masses, and nearly 30 came to Tuesday’s All Saints Day Mass. Last weekend we saw many folks though it is understood why so many could not be with us. Both the Finance Council and the Parish Council were postponed and will be rescheduled during this month.

Like all of you, outdoor clean-up has begun and will continue for some time. As with your private residences, many trees on the parish grounds were lost. Most of the (fruitless) pear trees, which were inside the parking lot, were lost only two remain, the same trees at the Mary Garden were also lost; the three majestic Maple trees across from the vestibule of the Church were damaged, many limbs and branches lost. The Dogwood tree in front of the rectory is no more. While the tree was dying and at the end of its life cycle, it still was an interesting tree to have on Church property (legend holds that the Cross upon which our Lord hung was fashioned from Dogwood that is why the flowers are white with a center of blood, symbolizing sorrow and it is said the God cursed the tree with a short and weak lifespan legend). Mike McDonald, son of Andrea and John McDonald, did much of the yard work…along with help from mom and dad…and I thank him for his diligence and hard work. By last Sunday all our debris was piled at curbside and is awaiting removal (please be careful as you exit the grounds). Some of the taller trees will need to be addressed as well as some of the larger stumps. Mike Grappone will see to those details in due time.
Other parish projects: the Church carpets are being cleaned (if you notice a citrus smell) as we have had a few complaints about a stale smell. Citrus Solutions parishioner Bob Belden in the back of the bulletin is taking care of that. We are having some storage closets built in the library. We are woefully lacking in storage both in the church proper and in the new addition. Not only do our Youth Ministry and Religious Education offices need storage space for their normal supplies but there are no closets in the entire facility, except in the sacristy, for coats to be hung when people come to funerals, weddings, and parish events. Electrical work in Russell Hall and the kitchen area is being looked into. At present, some of the plugs in Russell Hall do not work and when coffee pots and/or multiple crock pots (for events) are plugged in at the kitchen, we tend to overload the circuits. This is a problem any time but most especially when we are renting Russell Hall out for wedding or funeral receptions. We will have to improve our amperage. More to follow as I hear back from the experts.