The beauty of our Church at Christmas is the end result of good planning and hours of hard labor on the part of a small group of dedicated individuals. I am grateful for their wonderful work.  Thanks to Alesia Price who cleaned the church and helped with the decorating details both indoors and out!  Thank you to Ron Bossick who organized a group of men to put up our Nativity Scenes.  Bob Wheat and Lou Arcangeli oversaw this good work for many years.  While they’ve passed the baton, I still think Lou gets in his two cents and makes sure they are doing it right.  This is dangerous in naming names because I am bound to overlook someone so generically I thank the members of the Woman’s Club and the Altar Guild who do such a great job in decorating.  These folks, year in and year out, have given countless hours so that the Church looks great during the Advent and Christmas Seasons and throughout the year.   Keeping our little Church worthy of God’s presence and our worship and is a lot of hard work, thanks to all who contributed.
 
I also wish to express my appreciation to all those who have been working towards making our Christmas celebrations truly joyful celebrations. Thank you to Ryan Beke and all the music people: the cantors, the instrumentalists, the vocalists, not only for what you do this week but for the great work that you’ve done since Helen Stevenson has been on medical leave.  Bill Muncie tells me that this weekend marks his twenty-fifth anniversary since he started cantering under Helen’s direction.  We owe them both a huge debt of gratitude. Thanks to all in our music ministry for supporting our prayer with such joyful sounds!
 
Thank you to our weekend Sacristan, Ken Douberly, and the Eucharistic Ministers, the Lectors, the Ushers, and the Mass Servers. Your time and talent invested in ministry always helps to make our celebrations very organized and prayerful. Your cheerful attitude and joyful spirit are part of everyday life at Saint Michael Parish. You make Christmas a yearlong celebration. I am truly amazed at the goodness, generosity and love that are characteristic of the people of this wonderful parish.
 
I am so very grateful for Mary Chapin’s outstanding work in keeping us all organized.  This faith community has been blessed time and again by her hard work that makes this parish run so smoothly.  I am often humbled as people thank me for different things because I know things are only accomplished because of Mary’s dedication in conjunction with the Parish Leadership.  On a daily basis they join together as a team to go above and beyond the call of duty.  I hope during the Christmas season you will offer a prayer of thanksgiving for them and perhaps have an opportunity to thank them personally.
   
I grew up in a comfortable, middleclass family.  As a priest there are times when I fail to live a life of gospel simplicity.  On the other hand, I am fairly conservative (some might say stingy) when it comes to my own finances.  So, I am always impressed by the great generosity that I witness at this time of year.  I am humbled by the way in which so many of you give to friends and family in need, to worthy charities, and to causes that help those who need it the most.  If we truly believe that God is with us, then I think it is this type of generosity that makes his love all the more a reality in our world.
 
To help us in our generosity as a Parish, I've formed a new board, St. Michael Outreach Board or SMOB whose members: Cathy Anderson, Walker Beeson, Johnny Hosti, and Carolyn Jurick, help me distribute the charitable contributions that the women of St. Michael Thrift Shop and many of you make to the St. Michael Stewardship Account.  Since our formation after Hurricane Irma, SMOB has distributed $5,550. to help our own parishioners to recover from the flood damage caused by Hurricane Irma.  We also distributed $1000 to help with other local needs.  And we sent $500. to the Diocese of St. Thomas in the Virgin Islands to help in some small way as the Church there tries to recover from the devastation of Irma and Marie.
 
Bishop Herbert Bevard, Bishop of St. Thomas, sent a hand written note of thanks: “Dear Fr. Jerry,
How wonderfully kind you and your people are!  I thank you all again and again for your loving concern and generosity…Please tell your people of our gratitude and prayers.”
 
Finally, even though joy is not rooted in money, year-end donations and your wonderful generosity to the Christmas offertory can go a long, long way in relieving some of the stress I experience with our finances.  I am most grateful for your generosity to your Faith Community at Christmas.
 
On the Way Home: Mary was open to God’s plan and so gave birth to the Savior of the World.  How can you help to make God more present in our world?

Fr. Jerry Ragan