Pastor’s Column

AFTERMATH OF THE STORM

We’ve weathered things pretty well. Outside of a few flickers, the property only lost power once, and then only for a couple of hours. The redwood trees – between the severe winds and calling out a trimming company eight or nine days ago – dropped enough branches to fill a semi- truck, but it may be they will be healthier for it. Unfortunately they sometimes shed heavy boughs on some of our hanging cables, pulling them free from the roof, but those were quickly repaired. The roof itself suffered some loss of shingles over the bookstore, but Joseph Henao came out promptly to replace them and also put the roof in that area in significantly better shape. We didn’t suffer any leaks at all anywhere on the property which seems a miracle. Some of our gutters filled with debris and threatened to fall from the roof, but one of the men in the parish caught that and got up to clear them. Finally, you may have noticed the new fence leaning in areas where there was nothing to break the wind. The damage isn’t so bad as it looks – I spoke with the contractor on site here and it seems that the soil compacted around the concrete foundations of the posts. Once the weather clears up and the ground dries, he will send out a crew to clear around the current concrete and pour new concrete. A few boards will have to be replaced but nothing serious.

I want to thank those that braved the cold, wind, and rain, to keep the property in good working order over the last two weeks. Also, many parishioners have had a much worse time of it during the storms: some were out of power for five days, others experienced severe flooding on their property. Please keep everyone in your prayers and offer assistance where you can!

PARKING LOT

I am grateful that parishioners generally act with patience and decorum while trying to get in and out for Masses, especially on Sunday. Parking, in the lot or on the local residential streets, is highly visible to the community at large, and can be the occasion either for scandal or edification for our neighbors. A few specific requests – please try not to park outside of marked spaces in the lot, especially keeping clear of the 44th Street gate and the priest’s driveway entrance. Otherwise we can make things difficult for emergency vehicles or for priests trying to make it to the dying. Also, I remind everyone parking on the streets to take great care not to block driveways or disturb street-side trash cans.

Fathers can be of tremendous help by dropping their families off and then parking on the street in order to keep spaces free for women and the elderly.

Finally, please remind children to be careful and not to run in the parking lot. Thank you very much!