St. Francis Parish is important to us for many reasons. Probably the first and foremost is it has been our faith home since we have been together. With Ron taking formation class at St. Francis while we were dating and then being baptized, to getting married here, followed by baptizing both our boys and raising our family here. During this time, we have watched many other families and generations doing the same and realize how fortunate we are to have had the tremendous leadership and foresight of both Monsignor McGread and those generations before us to provide that opportunity. Now we feel it is our responsibility and the responsibility of the entire St. Francis community to continue that spirit of community building and foresight for generations to follow.
This "Rebuild My Church" campaign is important because of what it means to us personally and to the entire parish community. It means one body in faith working as a community to build something sustainable and larger than us all.
As the church teaches, the parish is the people of God coming together to worship and celebrate, and to be a living example to all why we need others and need to give of ourselves to provide for others. This campaign is necessary to facilitate the immediate needs of the parish, e.g., roof replacement and AC units that are failing, and to update current spaces for best use and ensure that current and future generations have a church, school and gathering spaces that fulfill the needs of ALL in the parish.
The reason we agreed to serve as general chairs of this campaign is really summed up in the prior paragraphs. We believe so much in the stewardship way of life and have been a living testament to its validity and strength from day one. From the very first time we attended Mass together at St Francis, we had such a sense of peace and understanding of the one faith and knowing that we were and are traveling the same path. We then fully embraced "Time, Talent and Treasure" as a way of life.
When Father Jarrod asked us to join in this project as general chairs, we told him we would discern and pray as to whether this would fit into our current schedules, and simply, whether we are the right people. In the next couple days while we were out of town and with the timeline dissipating, we had dinner and received a fortune cookie with the following "Make all you can, save all you can, give all you can," and with that our decision to say yes was confirmed.
St. Francis of Assisi is the leader and the ultimate "let your actions speak louder than words" parish. From the legacy that Monsignor McGread initiated to what generations of parishioners before us have continued, let us strive to maintain that ultimate example of the stewardship way of life. This world is filled with the attitude of "It's not my problem" or "I don't get anything out of it" mentality. We cannot let our selfishness and that of others dictate how we raise our families or the opportunities to teach a way of life that will benefit us all. We need to be a living witness to God's grace and to His son, Jesus, whose lone act of unselfishness will never be surpassed. We are a community and must strive to pass on to generations our example of that sacrifice of love.
With best regards and prayers,
Ron & Tina, General Chairs of Rebuild My Church Campaign