Bulletin for May 6

Dear friends in Christ,

As I write this the remnants of yet another successful Spring Festival weekend are being swept from the parking lot, the Community Center is being cleaned, the games and booths are making their way back to storage, and the receipts are being tallied. Like all of the core committee and our hundreds of volunteers, I’m exhausted. But the overwhelming emotion I am feeling is one of profound gratitude. I’m so very thankful for the gift of the people of Christ the Redeemer. What a tremendous weekend we experienced as the parish came together for the 33rd time to celebrate as a community of faith.

Suffice to say we owe a huge debt of gratitude to Mike and Camille Havelka and all of the Spring Festival core committee members, as well as our hundreds and hundreds of volunteers who made the event a great success. My thanks to all the booth workers, food servers, auction helpers, game attendants, flea market and sweet shop workers, Knights of Columbus, the Piece Makers, and everyone else. It was a superb job by all. And, of course, a great big thank you to all of you who came out to support us during the weekend. The weather on Saturday night was perfect, and everyone I visited with was in great spirits. Sunday’s weather was equally fine with a nice little breeze, too. The crowds were consistent throughout the day for the food booths, the games and rides, and the auction.

To be honest, it was one of the smoothest run festivals we’ve ever had. I checked in multiple times with Mike Havelka during the weekend and we were both amazed at how few “hiccups” we were experiencing. That’s a credit to good planning, dedicated volunteers and the grace of God! Everyone contributes to the success of the Festival, whether you bought raffle tickets, or peeled potatoes, or priced items in the flea market, or poured Cokes, or baked a cake, or worked a shift in a booth or ride. The youth did a great job on staffing a number of rides and games, and our youngest children really enjoyed the bounce houses, obstacle course, and rock wall. The list goes on and on and on. Everyone is part of it and everyone contributes to the success of it. That’s Stewardship in action so thank you one and all.

As always we are indebted to Mike and Camille, our chairpersons. It’s hard to put into words how much this couple gives to our community. They always go the extra mile and do this because of their great love of the parish and the people of our community. They will be the first to tell you it’s not just them, of course. The entire core committee gives so much. Each member or couple of the committee is responsible for a given area of the Festival and they all do their work with dedication and a love for our community. It’s a true act of Stewardship on the part of them all, most of whom have been giving back to the parish for many years. They include: Tony and Beckie Croes, who oversee the auction; Lynne and Rick Boehm, Paul and Jonna Prodoehl, John and Mary Phillips, Mike and Peggy Bell, Cody Feagin, and Mike and Camille’s two adult children, Rachelle and Steven Havelka, along with Leslie Buxton. My special thanks to Mike and Jill Dimiceli, who were new to the team this year, along with Megan Dillingham, our director of advancement, who served as a staff liaison and assisted with bringing in welcomed new initiatives like our wonderful sponsors and online sign-ups. Everyone did yeoman work and are deserving of our thanks and praise for their service to our community. 

Special thanks to Tony and Beckie Croes who do such a superb job of finding items and organizing both the live and silent auctions, both of which were a grand success. I also want to thank our DJ, master of ceremonies and auctioneer Dan Block, who along with Briz Garcia, did a great job with the live auction. Dan moved to Louisville, Ky. in 2016, but has returned the past two years to assist us and we are grateful for his masterful work. Three hours of non-stop auctioneering is not easy, but Dan is never for a loss of words!

Please join me in thanking as well our barbecue cook team who smoked up delicious brisket, sandwiches and sausage. Special thanks to all our ethnic food booths – Vietnamese (I loved the egg rolls and meat skewers), Filipino, Cajun (killer gumbo!), Mexican, African, and of course, our Knights with the traditional hot dogs, fries, and funnel cakes. If you went hungry during the Festival, it’s your own fault! 

Special thanks to the many CtR ministries who put together the “ministry baskets” for the silent auction. They again all outdid themselves with incredibly generous and creative donations. And thank you to everyone who bought a bottle of wine in my very own Wine Pull. I wasn’t too sure what to expect, but you all cleaned me out! That’s more than 225 bottles of wine that netted more than $10,000 for the church. If you got a bottle and want to know the back story of it, I’m happy to share with you how I came to have it, the winemaker, and why I love it. I’m happy all “my friends” went to a good home like yours and for such a good cause. Thank you ... and cheers! 

Congratulations also to the grand prize winner of the new Honda, Barbara Syzdek. She’s a member at St. Matthew Church, not too far from us on Hollister Drive. Her daughter is a CtR parishioner who sold her three tickets for $20. It only takes one to drive home a winner! Thanks to all who bought tickets for a chance to win. I’m sorry that I didn’t call your name, but just like Barbara, it could be you next year.

I appreciate all who stayed after the grand prize drawing to help break down the tables and chairs. We had the largest group ever helping out and were done in record time. When we all pitch in, it doesn’t take that long. Thanks for working together. It takes a few weeks to settle all the accounts and we’ll have a full report for you soon. For now I ask that you say a prayer of thanksgiving to the Good Lord for all who made it possible, for our core committee, and for all in our community who offered their time and talent to make it happen. We are truly blessed to have a Spring Festival that does so much for the good of our parish.

In other news, the calendar has turned to May and that’s always a busy month for us at CtR. This week we celebrate two Masses of confirmation for our high school students on Monday and Tuesday, May 7 and 8. We welcome back Cardinal DiNardo to confer this important sacrament on our teens. Also, next Saturday, May 12, our 2nd grade students will make their First Holy Communion at 9 a.m. We congratulate both our teens and young children on this milestone in their respective faith lives. I offer special thanks to our wonderful catechists and teachers who have helped prepare the teens and the children to receive both of these sacramental graces. Please note there will be no confessions next Saturday morning due to the First Communion Mass. 

Also, Religious Education registration continues throughout this month for all families, both those returning and those new to the program. This is your chance to see that your children are signed up for our R.E. classes beginning in the fall. Make it a priority to enroll them now. It’s first-come, first-served, so the sooner you sign up the better chance you’ll have to receive your preferred class time and day. Registration forms and more information can be found online. Only takes a few minutes so do it today.

Peace, Fr. Sean