Welcome to our
33rd 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 child’s (or adult’s) sugar craving and the plant booth will give your green thumb a new friend to care for. Don’t forget the ever-popular flea market. 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. Thanks also to Tony and Beckie Croes for their work on the auction and all the members of our core committee. The entire committee 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 for the entire year, so your help is especially needed. I’ll see you there!
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 have a wrap-up report next week. As always, it will take a few weeks to settle all the accounts but we are looking for another big year. 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. You can honestly sense that this a parish community that enjoys celebrating with one another. What a true blessing that is for all of us. So come one, come all!
In other important news, community registration for next year’s (2018-19)
Religious Education classes will open this week on Tuesday, May 1. You may register children in grades Pre-K through 7th online at our parish website 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 need 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 range of options for class times, take care of your registration 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 for children grades 3-7, until such time that 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. You don’t take your children out of school once they learn their ABCs, do you? No, you enroll them each year so they can continue to build upon those ABCs and come to discover additional knowledge. That’s how education works.
The same is true of learning our faith. Children don’t master it at 2nd grade. They must continue to build upon the knowledge of God every year. (By the way, that goes for us as adults, too. We should always strive to learn and discover the wonders of God’s love. That’s a lifelong pursuit.) If you take a hiatus from R.E. after 2nd grade it is going to be that much harder to re-engage your child in learning the faith later in life. I see it time and time again, and it’s heartbreaking. The faith of your family deserves better! Remember we have a variety of times and days for our R.E. classes, 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 get underway on Tuesday, May 1. VBS will be June 18-22, with two sessions (morning and evening) each day of the week, while Catholic Faith Camp will be July 16-20 from 9:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. daily. See our parish website at www.ctrcc.com/re for information on registration and volunteering in either program.
And finally, for older youth, particularly our junior high and high school students, registration for next year’s classes also begins on Tuesday, May 1. See the
Youth Ministry webpage for all the details.
Peace, Fr. Sean
P.S.: Remember, if you have time on Monday this week, we could use a hand in the morning with getting all the Festival equipment and supplies returned to the shed. Stop by the Community Center tomorrow morning to help. Thanks!