September 20

Weekend Bulletin
Children’s Bulletin
Sign-up for Adult Volleyball Leagues

Fr Terry’s Teachings…
Learning to Dance
Everything continues to be in flux as I am sure you are experiencing in many ways. This weekend, we blessed the catechists who will be teaching in our Religious Education Programs this year. We also will bless the parents, as several have decided to do in-home education this year. Educating our children not only in the ways of living in this world but also about their relationship with God is a very important task. I am sure all of you can remember fondly some of your favorite teachers in school. They had a lasting effect on our lives. In many ways, they helped to shape me into who I am today. This was not only the case of my school teachers. I have some fond memories of some of my religious education teachers. About half of them were Presentation Sisters out of Aberdeen. Sister Joyce taught me different ways to pray so I could find the one that best fit my personality. There was a parishioner who taught me over the course of two years. She taught me that faith in words only is disappointing to God. She introduced us to Service in and through the Parish to others. What struck me was that she not only encouraged us to do it but that she lived it in her own life. I only had one male religious Education teacher, but what he taught me stuck. He taught us how to always look for the dignity of others. That respect was not just a human thing, but how God deals with us. He taught us to be open to people in all sorts of situations in life. I especially remember that I was worried and scared of asking a classmate for a date. He had me practice with him, decide the best way to ask, be accepting if I got a response of no, and if she said yes, at the end of the date ask her if we could say a prayer together. And if she was ok with that, she was a keeper. She will know you are interested in her and cared enough to pray for her. Parents are great teachers. The biggest thing for me growing up was that they lived what they taught me to do. They taught me that you do not push to the bottom of your priority list your faith life and commitments. Parents teach you the important lesson of sacrifice out of love. They taught me to be firm and not wishy-washy about my faith. Just so you end with a smile on your face. I had asked someone to a dance. But then I panicked when I realized I could not fake this as I have no rhythm in my body. I asked mom if I could practice with her and if she would teach me. We were in the kitchen, she said she would and that she would be right back. Then she returned to the kitchen wearing dad’s steel-toed boots. She always could get a laugh out of me to break the tension of the situation.

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