Let Our Light Shine

Dear sisters and brothers in Christ,

I pray that you are blessed and you, and your loved ones, had a blessed and joyful Easter. I have been especially praying for those of you who are sequestered alone. While some people enjoy solitude, it can be difficult when it is forced upon us by outside circumstances. Not to mention the length of it. However, it is so very necessary. I am praying that we do not make the mistake of rushing back to our former lives before it is really safe. I would rather endure a bit more of these hardships than see more people get sick, and even die, because of it.

One thing we have been working on is a “Phone Tree.” We could not get access to the file that contained most of our email information, and so, Katie has been working on gathering emails and phone numbers into a new database. The idea is to have volunteers make calls to a number of people in order to check in on them, see if they have any needs that we might be able to meet, and of course, pray with them. If you would like to be added to our phone tree, to either make or receive (or both) phone calls or emails please call the office and leave a message with your contact information or send an email to office@stalphonsusgr.org If you know of someone who is sequestered alone, or are elderly or sick, please try and reach out to them, even if it is a simple drive by and a wave or note to say hello.

I hope you were able to join us for at least some part of Holy Week. We had a few technological hitches, but I think it turned out pretty well. I have to thank Scott and Carol for solving our sound issues, as well as, Michelle Storey for all of her technical assistance. If you missed one or more of them, they are available on our Facebook page, our Web Page, and our Youtube channel. Just search for St. Alphonsus - Grand Rapids (or St. Alphonsus GR). If you are still having issues, please call or email the office and one of us will try to reach out to you.

I want to also thank all of those who were willing to come out and make our liturgies so much better than they would have been with just us Redemptorists. We were allowed 10 lay people as long as they were ministers, and so, we chose to focus on musicians and cantors, with a couple of lectors. (Sorry, but I could find a way to justify ushers or Eucharistic ministers. ) I also want to thank Jodi, and her helpers, for decorating our church throughout Lent and Easter, as well as, staff members and a few volunteers who have been coming in to make sure our parish keeps running, especially our outreach ministries. I also want to thank everyone who has been praying for us and sending emails and notes of encouragement.

My final word of thanks goes out to all of those who have continued to support our parish financially. I was amazed at how many people sent in, or dropped off, their envelopes on the first Sunday that we did not gather for mass, especially since they did this without any prompting. It shows just how much people love St. Al’s, and even more importantly, have a sense of ownership of their parish. Not to mention that you understand Who is the true source of your own blessings. There has been a constant flow of financial support, from those who came to our drive-up Fish Fry, to those who sent in their Raffle tickets, and of course their Sunday envelopes (not to mention CSA). I want to assure each and every one of you, no matter what the amount, that I am so grateful. I see each one as a true blessing, especially, because of these uncertain times. I know that many of you have been furloughed and are worried about paying your own household bills.

Since I usually write this letter on Tuesday, a lot can happen between my writing it and you reading it. One thing we are planning on later this week is some virtual meetings with the various leadership groups of the parish. Our main topic will be assessing our financial situation. While I will admit that the Fish Fry & Sunday collections have been far better than I had first thought they would be, we still need to assess our situation and see how our actual income & expenses compare to our projected budget. Once we have this information we will communicate it to you. We also have some other important decisions to make.

Please continue to be safe, stay in touch non-physical-contact with your loved ones and neighbors, and don’t forget to wash those hands. Know that all of you are all in our daily prayers here in the rectory. Please say a prayer for us as well.

Finally, be sure to go looking for our Easter Egg Video of our children’s choir singing “This Little Light of Mine.” We challenge all of you to make a video of you and/or your loved ones also singing “This Little Light of Mine” and either post it to one of our sites or send it to our office email. If you need something to smile about, it’s sure to do the trick. If you need something to cry about then just look for our Redemptorist video of us singing. If we all let our light shine, then together with The Light of Christ, no darkness can stand against us.

In the Redeemer, Fr. Rick