Bulletin for April 28 - Festival Weekend

Dear friends in Christ,

Welcome to our 34th annual CtR Spring Festival weekend! If you are reading this on Saturday night or any time on Sunday, I hope you will make plans to stop by the Festival and enjoy everything that it has to offer. And I do mean everything. We’ve got plenty of space to spread out and a few new rides and games this year. The food booths and auction tent are back in the usual spots, but take time to wander around the grounds to see all there is to offer.

From the delicious homemade barbecue dinner from our CtR Smokers in the Community Center (followed by bingo in the mid-afternoon), to the live and silent auctions under the big tent, to the games for the kids, there is truly something for everyone. The wine garden is back again for the adults, and don’t forget to look for Fr. Sean’s Wine Pull (I’m partial to that one!) The Sweet Shoppe will satisfy any sugar craving and the plant booth will give your green thumb a new friend to care for. Look for Fr. Ralph there offering gardening tips! Don’t forget the ever-popular Flea Market where you can find anything and everything under the sun. Make us an offer as everything must go!

The Spring Festival is truly a community event and it only happens through the generosity of time and talent from all of our great volunteers. Look for the Festival Committee members in their specially designated “Staff” T-shirts and tell them thank you for their hard work. They are parishioners, just like you and me, who give selflessly so that we can enjoy a great weekend of family fun. My special thanks to our Festival chairpersons, Mike and Camille Havelka. Every year they seem to top themselves. You simply must find them and tell them how much you appreciate their hard work. The entire core team and all our great volunteers deserve our support and gratitude, but for now get out there and enjoy the Festival, buy your raffle tickets (it’s not too late as the drawing is at 7 p.m. on Sunday at the close of the Festival), and support our parish. This is our No. 1 fundraiser for the parish the entire year so your help is especially needed. I’ll be there and I hope to see all of you, too!

If you didn’t get a chance to volunteer at this year’s Festival, but still want to lend a hand, you are in luck. How about showing up Sunday at 7:01 p.m. after the raffle drawing and help us tear down the booths and stack chairs? If we have a good number of you pitch in, you will be amazed at how fast we can get everything back in order. Old or young, male or female, it matters not. A few minutes of your time at the close on Sunday night will be a great help. And if some of you are free on Monday and Tuesday morning of this coming week, swing by for some last minute help in getting everything put away. I know Mike Havelka would truly appreciate it, and since he does so much for us, how about lending him a hand Sunday night or Monday morning as a show of support for all his hard work? Thank you in advance for helping with the clean-up. It really means a lot.

I’ll be back next week with more news from the Festival. As always, it will take a few weeks to settle all the accounts. Of course while the revenue is welcomed and we certainly depend on it to fund the operations of the parish, the real benefit comes in the spirit that is developed and the community that is formed at the Festival. There is a real sense of joy and I am always amazed at just the sheer happiness I see on all the faces. I don’t just say that because I’m the pastor. What a true blessing that is for all of us. So come one, come all!    

In other news this week, though not a CtR event specifically, I invite you to join us for the Cypress Assistance Ministry’s Angel Breakfast featuring Scott McClelland from H-E-B. It will be from 7:30-9 a.m. this Tuesday, April 30 in our Parish Hall. It’s a fundraiser for CAM as they raise donations to build a new home for CAM on Cypress N. Houston Road. Their lease will soon be up at the complex of buildings on Huffmeister and after more than 28 years, they will finally have a place that is their own. Remember that CAM started as a ministry of CtR and has grown into one of the largest neighborhood social ministries in Houston.

Tickets for the CAM Breakfast are $100 each and your support will go a long way in helping them construct their new facility. CAM will still be doing the same ministry – helping those in need – but this allows them to expand and increase their outreach to so many in need. For information and tickets, contact Janet Ryan at 281-815-0162.

A reminder that registration for next year’s (2019-20) Religious Education classes will open this week on Wednesday, May 1 to new families (it opened to returning families on April 1, but all are now welcomed to do so). You may register children in grades Pre-K through 7th online at www.ctrcc.com/re. We are also in need of catechists to help us teach the faith, so please consider signing up yourself. We’ll give you all the training and help you along the way, but parents are the best teachers of the faith. We invite you to partner with us in passing on the great gift of faith to your children. If you want to ensure the best options for class times, register now. Don’t delay! It’s one less thing to worry about over the summer.

Let me also add a word of encouragement for parents to register your child in grades other than the sacramental preparation grade of 2nd. I’m always happy that most parents are diligent about seeing that their 2nd graders are enrolled in R.E. and sacramental preparation for First Reconciliation and First Holy Communion. But then we notice there is a disturbing drop-off in registration in children grades 3-7, until such time the young children become teenagers and begin the next round of sacramental preparation for confirmation. Thus they lose around five years – five critical years, I might add – of religious education and formation.

Parents, please enroll all your children in R.E., regardless of grade. Don’t just sign up for 2nd grade and then take a pass for the subsequent grades. Just because there is no sacramental preparation going on in those later elementary grades does not mean that the children should forego their religious formation. In fact, I would argue those years are essential for them to continue to grow in the knowledge of God. Remember we have many sessions, including homeschooling options, that will surely enable you to enroll your child in a time that works for your schedule. Come talk to our R.E. Department and let’s make it happen.

Additionally, registration for Vacation Bible School and Catholic Faith Camp also gets underway on May 1. VBS will be June 17-21, with two sessions (morning and evening) each day of the week, while Catholic Faith Camp will be July 15-19 from 9 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. daily. See our parish website for information on registration and volunteering in either program.

Peace,
Fr. Sean