WOW!  Was the Oyster Roast a great time or what?????  I was thrilled with the turn out especially as the weather wasn’t all that great.  Mike Beytagh had the dream of bringing back the Super Bowl Sunday Oyster Roast and with the help of so many in our Faith Community made it happen in a BIG WAY.  I am grateful to Mike for his leadership.  I am grateful to all who pitched in to make this such a great event, not only for our parish but for the entire Tybee Community.  And I profess not to like oysters, but even the oysters tasted wonderful.  It is successful events like this that bring a real vibrancy to our parish.
 
To keep the momentum going, I’d ask you to mark on your calendars the dates of our next three parish events.
            February 25 ^th – St. Michael’s Night Out at Fannies
            March 10 ^th – 3pm – “Convinced” at the Tybee Post

• “Convinced” is a powerful film with a variety of people describing their journey into the Catholic church from different starting points, from atheism to evangelicalism to lapsed Catholics and everything in between.  Hopefully, we will be able to invite many of our neighbors who are searching for the truth.  You can get a preview of this documentary on the next three Sundays at 10am by joining us for Sunday School for Disciples in the parish meeting room.

 
I have been a pastor in the Diocese of Savannah since 1993.  I have always been humbled by the generosity of the parishioners in the 6 faith communities (Waynesboro, Louisville, Dublin, Sandersville, Augusta, and Tybee) in which I’ve served.  Every year we have worked together to meet our goal for the Bishop’s Annual Appeal.  In light of the fact that our Church leadership is greatly in need of reform, I realize that this year we might struggle to make our goal.  I am grateful that you still see gathering on a Sunday to worship as a faith community as an important aid in your relationship with God.  So, I am hoping that you will still consider helping our Bishop with his many ministries throughout Southern Georgia.  With the generous support of my parishioners, I’ve reached the parish BAA goal for 24 straight years.  I hope to make it 25 years in a row.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      The BAA supports numerous diocesan ministries. Some address needs beyond the scope of individual parishes and some exist for the sole purpose of assisting parishes in their mission to teach and evangelize. Our parish goal this year is $27,190.  The theme of the appeal this year, “Who is My Neighbor?”, is based on our ongoing commitment to serve those in need, our neighbors, in the diocese.  Everything we do as a Church comes down to helping people have the encounter with Christ that comes through our faith and leads us to union with God in time and eternity. 
   
Today, February 10 ^th, is World Marriage Day (WMD).  It is a day that honors husband and wife as the foundation of the family, the basic unit of society. It salutes the beauty of their faithfulness, sacrifice and joy in daily married life. In 1983, "World Marriage Day", was designated by the leadership of Worldwide Marriage Encounter to be celebrated each year on the second Sunday in February. In 1993, St. John Paul II, imparted his Apostolic Blessings on World Marriage Day.
 
The theme for WMD has been permanently adopted as "Love One Another". This phrase is the commandment given us by Jesus in John 15:12. In a simple but challenging way it reminds us of how our Father wishes us to live. Loving one another is a daily decision, simple but challenging.  Before our regular blessing at the end of Masses this weekend, I will ask the married couples in our midst to stand for a special WMD Blessing.
 
Monday, February 11 ^th, is World Day of the Sick.  St. John Paul II initiated the day in 1992 to encourage people to pray for those who suffer from illness and for their caregivers. The Pope himself had been diagnosed with Parkinson’s a year before, in 1991, and it is considered that his own illness was impetus for his designation of the day.
 
The day coincides each year with the commemoration of Our Lady of Lourdes.  In observance of this day our Ministers to the Sick who visit the homebound and those in the nursing homes will hold a Communion Breakfast, starting with Mass at 8am and followed by breakfast at the Sunrise Restaurant.
 
Fr. Jerry Ragan