Cancelled

Our Respect Life Committee (RLC) was going to have a fahter-son brunch on Saint Joseph's Day (moved to the 15th this year) in order to raise funds for a new ministry project we decided to begin last year. What we wanted to do was be ready to assist women in crisis pregnancy. Now, in this area there is Catholic Charities and a Women's Center that does that, but I know that the Women's Center, as good as they are, also asks women to come in for appointments and such. A woman contacted our parish to ask for help because she couldn't afford the gas to drive her 16 year old daughter back and forth to the CPC multiple times. Could we help in some way?

This family is not Catholic, either. Now, again, that CPC does good work, but if someone can't get there multiple times per week for "credits" (I honestly don't know what it means), and that person is afraid to ask them to waive that requirement, what is to be done?

Our RLC wanted to be ready with a store of baby clothes and diapers on hand to assist women who needed a quick hand, along with being ready with resources to help them along the way with other items. And we wanted to be able to give them a crib to use. The only catch would be to return the items when possible and to use them gently in the meantime. No sitting and discussing the Gospel with them. No asking them if they want to accept Christ or become Catholic. Just helping. We don't help them so they become Catholic, we help them because we are Catholic.

However, there were some errors in getting ready for the brunch. First, the full-page insert we requested (and were approved for) did not get in the first week of March. We'd run an announcement the week before, but it was small. The full-page insert would draw more attention to the brunch and let people know that starting that week and ending yesterday, we'd be selling tickets. Since it did not run, no one saw it. In addition, I'd requested an announcement after Masses that same week, and that didn't happen. Both of these were just oversights - not intentional - and both were done this past weekend instead. But then it was too late. We sold only five tickets, and that included a RLC member and his two grandsons.

Fortunately, we wrote down the names of the people who bought their tickets, and we'll be able to refund the money.

There are other things, too, that contribute to my sadness over this, but I should probably just bear it well. (Spritual work of mercy, right?)

We'll meet tonight, very briefly, to discuss whether we should try to reschedule this or if we should just put it off until next year.

In the meantime, please pray for me, because the anger I felt over this yesterday was really not a good thing. I need to just accept it, accept the situation, and deal with the situation the RLC has to exist in with grace. But, God, I really need some grace.





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