St. Mark's News & Events for August 26, 2007

Greetings as we begin another week!

I’m sure by now that everybody is in full swing with back-to-school and all that comes with it during this time of year. As much as I enjoyed school as a child, I always dreaded the time when vacation was over and the grind had to begin again. However, it did make the time go faster and before you knew it, you were graduating and then the real grind begins! Anyway, I always remembered to keep God a part of the experience and while in seminary, I used to write on the top of my test papers, “All for the glory of God” which helped me to remember what it was all about.

This past week consisted with lots of meetings on the preparation for our new Church and I am very happy with the way we are progressing. Thus far the subcommittees are in the dream stage of the wants and needs of our new Church and are also working on educating themselves regarding guidelines in Church architecture along with how we will be getting from Point A to Point B. Our preparation consultant, Alberto Portella, will be here after all the Masses on September 8th and 9th giving those who are interested a short workshop on Gathering Spaces. Hope you will be able to attend this interesting talk and learn about ways you can contribute to our new Church design. We hope to present to the parish a Vision Statement booklet sometime in October to get your ideas and comments on our new Church. Just keep checking our Website and Bulletin for information.

Well, that is all for now. Continue to enjoy the gift that God has given us in each other.

Peace,
Fr. David

St. Mark's News & Events for August 19, 2007

Greetings as we begin another week!

As you may know, every year the Church of Diocese of St. Petersburg honors those individuals from various parishes who have performed outstanding service to their respective Churches with the St. Jude Award Medal. This year I am thrilled to announce the first Spanish recipient of this wonderful medal to Mr. Jose Moranta! Mr. Moranta has been a fixture with the Spanish community from the beginning and has devoted much of his time, talent, and treasure to making the liturgical experience of this community second to none. He has been married to his wife Noelia for over 30 years and is currently studying for the Diaconate. God willing, he will be ordained as a permanent Deacon in the next two years and he will be able to serve our parish community in an even deeper way. My congratulations go out to this wonderful man and he will be awarded this privileged medal on the Feast of Christ the King in November of this year. We are so very grateful for his presence here!

Last week I mentioned that our Music Director, Todd LeBlanc has resigned as our Music Director. Please keep Todd and his family in prayer to almighty God.

Peace,
Fr. David

St. Mark's News & Events for August 12, 2007

Greetings as we begin another week!

Last week Vacation Bible School was in full swing and what a wonderful time all the children and adults experienced. There were so many activities for the children to do and they learned a lot about God during that time. I would like to thank Pam Wallace for putting this all together with assistance from other adult leaders and families who brought enthusiasm and great teaching techniques that made the children want to come back for more. Looking forward to next year already!

On another note, we are sad to report that our Music Director, Todd LeBlanc, will be leaving us on August 19th to commit full time to his Show Kidz business. Todd has been a wonderful leader to our music ministry these past five years and we will miss his good and cheery disposition. We thank Todd for his great contribution to our Liturgies and we wish him the best of blessings in his new endeavor. God speed to you! We are now in the process of receiving resumes from prospective candidates and we will be interviewing for the best person in the weeks to come. Keep Todd and all of us in prayer to almighty God.

On Saturday, August 25th we will have the opportunity to take a bus to visit some Churches in Kissimmee, Winter Park, and Rockledge (near Orlando), to view the latest architecture of Church’s that were recently built. This will be an educational tour for us to get ideas about what type of architecture and seating we may like for our new Church. The bus holds around 46 people so if there are any parishioners who wish to go, please call Chuck Rizzo at the office and reserve your seat. There is not cost, but space is limited so call as soon as possible. We will be leaving the Church around 8:00 a.m. returning around 5:00 or 6:00 p.m. that day. Come and partake in a piece of history!

I did get the chance to play golf with my oldest brother Joe on his birthday last week and we played a course called El Diablo, which means, The Devil. With a name like that, I wasn’t sure if it was the right course for me to play. Although it tempted me many times to hit the ball where I shouldn’t, I played it reasonable well and lost only one ball. I figured with God on my side, why would I fear anything! Actually, it was a great course and the weather held up until the round was over and then the rains came. God is good!

Well, that is all for now. Continue to enjoy the gift that God has given us in each other.

Peace,
Fr. David

St. Mark's News & Events for August 5, 2007

Greetings as we begin another week!

I guess the only exciting thing that happened this week to me personally was the fact I got a new car! I call it my “toy car” because it’s very small and drives like a, well…toy car. I love it because now I can park into all types of places without any effort and also it has great gas mileage, which helps out a lot now that gas prices keep going up. I did lots of research on cars the last few months and for what I wanted, I got a great deal. So whatever money you want to throw in my trunk for good luck, please go ahead and do so! It may help in my car payment.

In other news, we have been meeting with the subcommittees from the Steering committee and laid out a solid plan of attack for the next few months. I’m hoping to have some criteria done by the end of this year so we can present this to the parish for your input and comments. After that, we will design a schematic to present to the parish and then onto the Diocese for their input and comments. Towards the end of August, members of the subcommittees will be visiting churches in the Orlando area to view some of their architecture and worship space. It’s beginning to get exciting!

Last week I also attended a youth leadership retreat held at St. Leo Abbey and over 13 of our youth leaders attended. I was so proud watching them being commissioned to go back to their parishes and bring the Gospel of Christ to youth. They seemed on a spiritual high and I could sense their excitement as leaders. Youth ministry has a lot of great things planned for this coming year and I hope many of you parents will support their effort by supporting the work of your children. They are the Church NOW and we need their creative energy!

No golf to report on this week although I will be heading to the course to play with my older brother for his birthday. I will let you know how that fiasco winds up.

That is all for now, continue to enjoy the gift that God had given us in each other.

Peace, Fr. David

St. Mark's News & Events for July 29, 2007

Greetings as we begin another week!

Well, vacation was a real treat this year as I had the opportunity to visit the city of Chicago for the first time. What a special treat for me as I was able to see the Cubs in old Wrigley Field and surprisingly they won! I visited the Art Museum, which was awesome along with other large and small attractions along the way. But the best part of it all was the food! I tasted almost every variety of Chicago food and all of it was outstanding! Chicago pizza was second to none and I still can’t get over the deep-dish variety that filled me after one slice! I went with Fr. Argentino, whom some of you know from saying Mass here on occasion, to one restaurant where their prime rib is their specialty. We are no longer allowed in that restaurant after Fr. Argentino moved the table to get out after our meal and its entire contents spilled to the floor! As I fled out of the restaurant, Fr. Argentino told the Maitre de that he may need a mop at table 24 and then also fled. So if you ever go to Laurie’s restaurant on the Miraculous Mile and see our pictures on the wall, you will know why. Just tell them you don’t know where we live! Anyway, we had a great time and I look forward to going back as soon as I lose all the weight I gained on the trip. Gosh, that may take a long time!

Despite summer vacations, we continue to meet in setting the groundwork for our new Church. The subcommittees will be meeting again along with the Steering Committee to tie up some loose ends and hopefully get more and more information out to you. It’s starting to get really exciting!

Well, that is all for now. Continue to enjoy the gift that God has given us in each other.

Peace,
Fr. David