Thirteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Dear St. Peter Parish family, 
What a joy it was to meet so many of you this past weekend after Masses, on my first weekend as your pastor! I felt so welcomed by you all, and that means the world to me as I try to settle in and make Reserve and Garyville my new home. I was particularly excited to participate in the bake sale, both contributing and receiving baked goods, and I’m sure there will be many more to come. (I wasn’t too thrilled with how my cupcakes turned out using a gas oven, though. I’ll have to get used to it or use the ancient electric oven in the St. Hubert rectory.) 

I want to give you all the opportunity to get to know me a little better, and to have an opportunity myself to get to know what you love about your parish, what things you think need to be done, and whatever other ideas you want to share. So I’m going to make myself available for “Desserts with Fr. David.” Basically, the idea is you get a group of YOUR friends together at YOUR house to host me for a conversation with whatever refreshments you like, so I can get to know you and learn more about our parish: what you love about it, what it means to you, what activities and resources our parish offers, what you think the parish needs, and what you need from me, your pastor. I really want to hear your thoughts and get to know you! But to make this work, I need the groups to be no fewer than 6 and no more than 12 adults at a time (kids can be present but don’t count towards the number), plus myself and a friend of mine from out of town to take confidential notes so I can remember what we talked about. (You don’t know them yet, but you will!) 

To plan an afternoon or evening “Desserts with Fr. David (maybe with some beverages of interest to you!), please call the office and find out from Angie which days and times are open, and reserve whichever one works for your group of friends. Think about which people you want to be part of the discussion in your home. However, if you have already been to one, and then someone else invites you to their gathering also, I ask that you decline the invitation and limit yourself to one gathering. Also, if you’re planning to host, consider inviting parishioners who may not have a group, or let Angie know that you’re open to a certain number of extra parishioners who may not have a group, and she can match you up with parishioners who need a group to be part of. I’m really looking forward to sharing some desserts or drinks and conversation with you all, and getting to know my parish family better! 

With God’s blessings,