How good it is for us to be here!!!!  Welcome home!!  Not everyone is back yet, nor will they be for a while.  There is still a great risk in our gathering.  But realizing this has been a painful time to be away from the Eucharist and the faith community, we do not wish to unnecessarily extend this.  I am grateful for all those who have helped to get as to this point but in particular I want to thank Delia, Mike, and Gay for their hard work in trying to create a safe atmosphere for reopening.  I am grateful for your understanding and patience as we continue learning and discerning our way forward.  I doubt that we will be headed back to that place called normal, anytime soon, if ever.  So, let us be kind with one another as we try to figure out where the Holy Spirit is leading us.

Covid – 19 has placed a terrible burden on so many with loss of life, those in the hospital who are suffering in isolation, economic hardship, and stress.  So, I hesitate to share my little heartache, especially since in so many ways I have been blessed in the last couple of months.  But there have been times lately when my spirit has been wounded and weighed down.  It is not exactly a secret that many so-called Christians have responded to this pandemic in ways that are both bizarre and troubling.  Their selfish belly aching about their “God given rights” being threatened has been painful to witness.  At times, their ugly protests have overshadowed the sanity and generosity of many faithful, Spirit-filled Christians.

So, this day, God’s Spirit encourages me to focus on the positive rather than the negative.  Given our present situation it is good to gather once again as Spirit-filled Christians as did the disciples on the first Pentecost.  I love Pentecost.  On this day, we commemorate the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the disciples. It is not only a day to celebrate the birth of the Church, but it is also a time to celebrate the presence of God’s Spirit active in the Church today.  The exciting thing for me as pastor of this faith community is that so many of you are growing in your faith; you are living gospel values and when that happens, the church begins to come alive with new life.

At St. Michael’s, I hope our visitors will find a loving and compassionate faith community.  We are always working hard to make our liturgies joyful, prayerful, and uplifting experiences.  I hope that our parish will always be a place where our members thrive; a place of fellowship where we passionately pursue our Catholic faith.  I pray that our faith community will help both visitors and parishioners experience the presence of our Risen Lord and encourage all who gather with us to go deeper in their daily walk with Christ.

I pray for the day that we all feel comfortable coming back together again.  But we know that there have been some who have left long before this pandemic hit and just never returned.  On this Pentecost Sunday I want to initiate a new effort to reach out to them. I’ll call it, Project Re-Connect.

Over the past few years, some parishioners and our friends have chosen to leave our faith community.  I know there are many different motives for these decisions, but we miss our friends. I (and hopefully a couple of extroverted volunteers) would like to reach out to those who have left the parish and invite them back. Should you know of any of these former parishioners among your family or friends, please let me know.   The easiest way to do this is to text me (706-267-1073) their name, phone number and/or email.  You could also drop a note into the basket with the contact information and your name on it.  Project Re-Connect will continue at least until the end of the year.  It is my hope that as we slowly move beyond this pandemic the Holy Spirit will imbue our faith community with a missionary impulse capable of transforming everything around it.  Our parish must become a place, as Pope Francis put it, “for dialogue, proclamation, charitable outreach, worship and celebration.”

Come Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful and kindle in them the fire of your love!!

P.S. Let me know if you might be one of those extroverted folks who could help with Project Re-Connect.