St. Joseph of the Lakes

How quickly the harvest time comes! It seemed not too long ago that the ground was just thawing and now we are enjoying the fruit of our gardens. Sadly I have already noticed some leaves beginning to color as we are in the early stages of the impending Fall. To me this is when we should declare the New Year begins because the reality for all of our students and for many others is that we are approaching the beginning of the new school year. Although much of what we go through in these annual cycles is mundane, there is an excitement about changing classrooms and getting new notebooks and backpacks. I loved that moment of going shopping for my new school supplies and having once again fresh pencils and notebooks. Because I was educated in Catholic Schools I would get fresh uniform pants and shirts and for a short time (maybe a month) they actually wouldn't be torn or stained.

Of course for our community we kick off these beginnings with the Parish Festival! It is a great moment to gather with friends and family for a beverage or two and to enjoy the long tradition of the chicken dinner. I recently visited Marce and Al Dupre where we recounted the years of working in the kitchen and the transporting of the cooked chickens from the school to the festival. As we have grown it has gotten much easier, but still it is a mighty task to feed all of our guests next Sunday. There are so many people who have provided leadership and "grunt" work to make this party happen. Make sure you let your fellow parishioners know how much you appreciate their contribution to your good time.

Before we even begin I would like to say thank you to Brian and Chris Sauter and the entire festival committee. I know this has been an extraordinary commitment of time and talent a the service of your parish family. I truly appreciate the efforts that all of the committee members have contributed to the great parish party.

I look forward to enjoying the fruits of their labors next weekend and I invite all of you to affirm their efforts by making sure that you spend a little time with your parish family. (As my mother would alert me: "Michael this IS a command performance - be there for the family's sake").

See you next week!