From the bulletin for The Twenty-Ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time (Oct 20, 2024)
Pastor’s Parish Update on Matters Various & Sundry, Part II
The itemizing updating on ongoing happenings and proceedings has things remaining!
Parish Facility Rentals
Parishioner calls the parish office. “Can I rent the gym for my kid’s birthday? Or Carolyn Hall for my (other) kid’s grooms dinner?” In recent years, our staff have had to show a rare grimace as they give the answer in the negative. Years ago, such rentals were permitted. But after the downsizing connected to the school closure, we simply did not have the custodial or administrative bandwidth to facilitate such requests.
But we’ve wanted to. Now, with the addition of the part time administrative assistant position a year ago this month, filled so admirably by Gina Brennan, we are thinking this might be possible again. As pastor, I’d like to make parish facilities available to parishioners, since it is your parish. Especially if it makes celebrating sacraments more affordable and builds community. And it brings some much-needed rental income to the parish.
So, hear ye, hear ye: after consulting parish and finance councils and developing a plan with the staff, St. Mark’s will be permitting parishioner facility rentals for private events on an experimental basis, starting with the first of the new year. Rentals will be limited to events commemorating family milestones (like birthdays and anniversaries) or celebrations connected to sacraments (such as baptisms and weddings). We’ve created a modest fee schedule and related policies (which will certainly be a work in progress for some time). Availability will depend on the ebb and flow of the parish event calendar.
Granted, what we are able to provide is rather bare-bones (no luxury banquet hall on this campus!) and we still need to resolve the need for on-site facility coordinators outside of office hours. But I am pleased to make this trial in hopes that it will be of benefit both to you all and to the parish. St. Mark, whose childhood home in Jerusalem was “rented” by the Church, pray for us! (Direct rental requests to Gina at gbrennan@onestrongfamily.org)
Small Groups
I want to commend the 110 Markers who are presently participating in parish small groups, about 20 of whom are new participants after the fall push. If we estimate that roughly two thirds of the 500 or so who regularly attend each weekend are adults, that would mean that over a third of our active adult population are in parish small groups now! And this is not counting the many of you who already participate in other kinds of small groups. That vision of “every Catholic in a small group” no longer sounds so idealistic! Thank you, group leaders, for making this possible!
Let’s remember the vision: small groups are not to be just one offering among many at our parishes, but an integral part of the parish structure itself, like the tissues of an organ. As we continue to grow in that direction, we will have to discern how, as families and as parishes, we adapt “parish life as usual” to this new reality. For example, how will small groups and other parish events interrelate and be integrated into a coherent “system”? Or, if small groups will mean that each parishioner has another weekly commitment outside of Sunday Mass, will that mean we have to say “no” to other good activities we no longer have time for? (We shall see!)
Case in Point: the Bible Study
I am very excited for the fall study that your pastor will attempt to lead on the Letters of Paul kicking off next week. We will actually read large chunks of Paul’s letters during the session (like the early Church!) and prayerfully reflect on them together to see what the Spirit says to us through them. Then, a shorter than usual presentation, Q&A, and table discussion. My hope is that the Bible Study will serve as something of a “large group landing pad” for people (potentially unchurched) to hear the Word of God in the context of community, and then be routed to a more permanent place of encounter through a small group.
Month of Stewardship
Last but not least, the Month of Stewardship. Racing by! Next weekend is already Pledge Weekend for the “treasure” portion of our annual tri-pronged exercise in giving back to God. Be on the lookout this week for the arrival of the Annual Parish Report and the pledge card it contains. Come next Sunday ready to make or renew your financial pledge to the Lord and to this parish. God is never outdone in generosity, and you can hardly find a better cause to support than our shared mission of living and proclaiming Christ’s call to holiness!
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