Hip-hip-hooray! Mrs. Delgado’s famous cheer would be an appropriate way to express all that took place last Sunday in our parish. With the blessing and the dedication of our school, both the new and the older wings of our school building came together. We celebrated a beautiful day, blessed with fine weather and the support of hundreds of people who came to witness this historic event in our parish history. Thank you to the many people who have made this dream a reality. I am grateful to all those who put together a beautiful program of celebration. I thank, in a special way, our Parish Maintenance Staff, under the capable direction of Jay Flood; they did a phenomenal job of getting everything ready, including last-minute efforts to have the pre-K playground in good order. There were many last-minute touches that had to be done, and they were able to manage it, although I believe they were quite exhausted by the end of Sunday.
I also thank our Stewardship Council members, both past and present, who were able to draw together so many people who helped complete the project. Special thanks to the Chairpersons of the council, Rabih and Shannon Boueri. Under their capable leadership, we were able to draw many people together to finance the construction and the furnishing of this splendid building. Also, I thank the former and present Directors of Stewardship in the parish, Julie Ott and Dan Siller. Julie dove right into the project from the very beginning, and Dan proved to be a most capable successor in bringing in the later needed funds to complete our project. There were also many generous donors, with gifts large and small, some of whom wish to remain anonymous in their gift-giving. May God bless and reward all of them, for He alone knows what sacrifices they had to make in order to bring about a successful conclusion to our planning.
I also thank our principals, both past and present. When I first envisioned the possible expansion of the school to meet an ever-increasing demand for more space to educate the growing number of students who wanted to learn in a Catholic environment, it was Mrs. Delgado who jumped on board and helped me form the nucleus of parishioners and parents needed to carry out that dream.
Thanks to our Deacons, Denise, Stephanie, Rosaly, Dan, Maria, Sister Elizabeth H. and several other helping hands, that made the dedication ceremony and reception a beautiful event and wonderful opportunity to enjoy not only the day, but also the company of many friends whom we haven’t had much of a chance to visit for a while because of the pandemic. Please remember our priest-neighbors at St. Mark’s as they struggle to survive COVID-19 and get well again. Enjoy the accompanying photos that recount the day’s events.