Even with the long warm fall New England has enjoyed this year, there will be a winter and it will be cold. People living on the streets or moving from shelter to shelter will become more obvious, as most of the rest of us do less outside activities and stay inside on the cold days. As we enter a coffee shop or a fast food restaurant we are liable to meet the homeless. Some will be standing looking desperate; others will beg for a handout. Sometimes the homeless knock on car windows or mutely stand there at intersections holding placards begging for work or money.
I invite those who are attracted to the third aspect of our orientation to consider the following invitation which came from The Green Faith Network. There is a new multi-faith initiative which you can join. It calls us, “to walk our talk, to align our behaviors with our values… to change our consumption habits… to join a journey towards lifestyles of compassionate simplicity, for the sake of the human family and our precious planet.” To give concrete expression to your response sign the multi-faith statement, Walk on Earth Gently.
After consultation with Peggy Doyle, who has served as Director of Vocation Promotion for the last 10 years, we have appointed Ann Marie Strileckis as Coordinator of Vocation Ministry. Ann Marie will be working on forming a team to work with her, and one of her main tasks will be to encourage all of us to participate in various ways. We are very grateful for her willingness to assume this critical ministry in addition to her work as pastoral associate at St. Joseph’s Cathedral, and we thank Peggy for her many years of service and her willingness to continue this ministry in another capacity.
