August 20th

Dear Friends, 

This week we welcome our children back into our schoolhouses! The start of the year always brings life back to our campuses, which feel a little sleepy during summer months. Along with school starting again we’ll see more parish activity. The SGCS Golf Outing is next weekend; Rock the Block is September 16th and the Kenned and Carl concert is September 30th. We are also working to put together some after-Mass hospitality. Lori Serpico is going to spearhead organizing this, so if you are interested in helping out, please contact her (lserpico@nativitystgabriel.org). We had beer/wine/cheese after one Saturday evening Mass in July, and that was really nice. It seems like this should be part-and-parcel to our Sunday experience, at least once a month… the challenge is just getting it up and running. 
 
Let me put in another plug for the Fall ALPHA, due to begin on September 6th. Consider inviting a family member or neighbor to attend the first one (preregister, please, since dinner is included). This is a relaxed and conversational event that offers people the chance to explore issues of meaning and faith. Information on registering for the September 6th session is in the bulletin. 
 
Finally, I received notice by mail (maybe some of you did, too) informing me that some residential safety concerns led to a decision by the city to invest $400,000 to modify many of the Canaryville streets and alleys. I was disappointed that neither the parish administration nor the school administration was contacted prior to this decision being made, and so we did not participate in the gathering of opinions about the project. I must admit that I don’t relish having to navigate an obstacle course of speed bumps and traffic circles when driving in and out of the neighborhood. I suppose that time will tell whether these changes actually enhance the safety of Canaryville residents (which was the reason given for these changes).  
 
May your week reflect the encounter with Christ 
we experienced at Mass today! 
 
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