St.
Patrick's P A R I SH m o n t h ly n e w s l e t t e r
Inside This Issue: 3
Giving Thanks to God for the Gift of Time
Helping Hands Ministry Adding a Personal Touch to Parish Events
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6 Stewardship: The Four Pillars 7 The Interfaith Food Ministry
A Community-Wide Effort Providing Nourishment for Body and Soul
N OV E M B E R 2 0 2 1
Meet Our School Principal,
Edee Wood
Serving with Generosity and Gratitude
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bout 16 years ago, Edee Wood was asked to begin a beautiful journey, and she opened her heart to it in a generous way. “I had just finished my first year of teaching, and I had a wonderful principal that I worked with named Chuck Suarez, who was actually the former principal of Mount St. Mary’s,” she says. “One day he came to me and said that he saw great potential in me. He advised me to go back to school and become a principal. I felt so honored and humbled that he saw those qualities in me. He really inspired me, and this is how I began to feel a sort of calling to become a principal.” One faithful step led to another, and after a For Edee Wood and her time of dedicated study and preparation, Mrs. family, Mount St. Mary's is a Wood became the principal of our parish school very special place. about 13 years ago. “Mount St. Mary’s is a very special place,” she says. “It was definitely a calling for me to come here. I love being around the children, and working with them every day. Our school community is a place where they can continued on page 2
St.
Patrick's P A R I SH Meet Our School Principal, Edee Wood continued from front cover
really grow in their faith. It is a good environment for them while they are on the journey to heaven. The school has a great working relationship with Fr. Estrella, our parish pastor, which has been very beneficial.” During her time as principal, she has enriched our school in amazing ways, such as by tripling our student enrollment numbers while maintaining a tight budget. She is especially dedicated to making the school’s mission come alive before our eyes, not to mention our hearts. “Our school was founded by the Sisters of Mercy, and in honor of that, we strive to focus on promoting good values, morals, and discipline,” Mrs. Wood says. “We teach our children to do the right thing. We provide an atmosphere where the children understand the importance of serving others and giving back to their community. We believe in developing the whole child — not just focusing on helping them develop their academic skills, but also to grow in their faith. We feel that this is our responsibility, and it is something that appeals to our families.” For Mrs. Wood, providing a strong, faith-rooted education is a family matter — she and her husband, Martin, have two daughters, Macy and Ellie, who both attended Mount St. Mary’s in the past and were active in our parish. Mrs. Wood has also devoted her time and talent to preserving the history of our parish school in a meaningful way. “Mount St. Mary’s is the oldest operating school west of the Mississippi River,” Mrs. Wood says. “It has such a rich history. It was originally founded because there was a need to give support to the families and children in Grass Valley. I believe that this is an important history that needs to be continued, and that
For Edee Wood, providing a strong, faith-rooted education is a family matter — she and her husband, Martin, have two daughters, Macy and Ellie, who both attended Mount St. Mary’s in the past and were active in our parish.
our responsibility as Catholics and people of faith is to continue the work of those who came before us.” Furthermore, thanks to the support of generous volunteers from all walks of life, our school has been able to add several extracurricular activities in the last few years. “It is so important to build up our community, as well as the culture of our school,” Mrs. Wood says. “People are looking to be part of a family-like community, especially in this day and age. We have several parent, community, and staff volunteers who have greatly enriched our school by providing excellent opportunities such as the Garden Club, the Cooking Club, and the Robotics Club.”
“We teach our children to do the right thing. We provide an atmosphere where the children understand the importance of serving others and giving back to their community. We believe in developing the whole child — not just focusing on helping them develop their academic skills, but also to grow in their faith.” — Edee Wood, Mount St. Mary's School principal
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A L e t t e r F ro m F at h e r
Giving Thanks to God for the Gift of Time Dear Family,
The next several weeks are certainly a busy time for us as Catholics, good stewards, good citizens, and faithful members of the Church and our parish. There are celebrations and commemorations both inside and outside the Church that are momentous in terms of faith, citizenship, and living as people of thanksgiving and gratitude. On November 1 we celebrate the Solemnity of All Saints with a special Mass at 6:30 p.m. This Mass honors all the saints — known and unknown. We follow this with a special All Souls Day Mass on November 2 at 6:30 p.m. to honor all those who may have been "saints" in our lives. We celebrate Veterans Day on November 11 to honor and thank all those men and women who served in the United States Armed Forces in one capacity or another. We all understand that Americans celebrate a day of Thanksgiving on Nov. 25. What more can we say about this? It is a day that was based in faith from its very beginnings, and it is an indication of how much we have to thank God for in terms of the gifts we have received. No sooner are Thanksgiving Day celebrations concluded, than we begin that glorious season called Advent on Sunday, Nov. 28. This prepares us for and leads to Christmas. Indeed, this is
both a busy and extraordinary time of year! There is, of course, much more on which we could focus and about which we could think, meditate and pray, but that is more than enough for us to consider and absorb. From a stewardship perspective, I would like you to not only participate and focus on all the particular things that are about to happen but also on one of our special gifts — the gift of time. The gift of time, which we all receive from God in equal amount, is precious because it is a nonrenewable resource. Although some of our time is committed because of family responsibilities, work responsibilities, or simply personal needs, we have an element of freewill with how we spend a certain amount of it. We need to spend some of that time in prayer, in thanksgiving, in worship, and in works of mercy and ministry. Our time is perhaps more precious than any material gifts we receive from the Lord. How are we doing with that gift? Your Father in Christ,
Fr. Estrella, Pastor
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Patrick's P A R I SH
HELPING HANDS
Adding a Personal
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s Catholics, we must always strive to reach out to our brothers and sisters in faith, and a helping hand is always appreciated. Whether it’s for a social event, a funeral reception, a deanery dinner, a sacramental celebration, or anything in between, the Helping Hands Ministry is there to assist. “Our ministry started in the summer of 2017, when my husband, Mark, and I were asked to help out with the social events of the church,” says Karen Frederick. “After I retired, I volunteered to take Communion to a care facility, but then after a while I said, ‘Lord, I’m ready to do more now.’ Shortly after that, Mark and I were asked to do Helping Hands. Now we have a group of 17 men and women. Whenever there is a function, I send out an email explaining what we need, and people respond if they can or can’t do it. It’s a wonderful group, and there’s no pressure at all — sometimes we have all of us, and sometimes just one or two, but there is always someone willing to help out.” Helping Hands Ministry duties include setting up, decorating, and preparing refreshments for a variety of events. The refreshments can be anything from just coffee and water, up to a fullfledged meal. While the ministry doesn’t take care of cooking, members will arrange for catering or will purchase food from a local grocery store. For parish events, the parish reimburses the ministry for food costs, while for events such as sacrament and funeral receptions, the family pays for the food. Beyond the cost, the ministry takes care of everything else. “We supply all the linens, place settings, flowers, and drinks,” Karen says. “I am not a decorator at all, but some of our ladies are beautiful decorators. We’ve been working together for so long that I just need to tell them a few
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The Helping Hands Ministry started in the summer of 2017, when Karen and Mark Frederick were asked to help out with the social events of the church. things, and they just go ahead and do it. Some people come and work in the morning to set up, and others come in the afternoon just for cleanup. Everyone does what they can when they can.” Karen recalls several memorable events
MINISTRY:
Touch to Parish Events “When Mark and I became involved with Helping Hands, we started meeting the people of the church. I have met so many people now, and they know us — the church is like our second home.” — Karen Frederick with which the ministry has assisted, including organizing a sack lunch for a recent parish retreat, as well as a reception for Fr. Estrella when he was installed as pastor. “We need to be very careful with COVID, so recently we did a sack lunch for the parish retreat,” she says. “We also prepared a continental breakfast the next morning and served them individually on trays. When Fr. Estrella became our pastor, we had a dessert reception for him. It was in the evening, and we had three dessert tables and people could walk around. It was wonderful and turned out so nicely!” The ministry commonly organizes funeral receptions and makes sure that they have special touches that are meaningful to grieving families and friends. “It’s really helpful to the families when they don’t know which way to turn — some of them are from out of town, so I’ve never even met them, and we do most of our arrangements over the phone,” Karen says. “I always ask things like what their favorite color was, and we try to arrange a color theme around that. We always try to make it
personal for them — for example, one man loved pie, so we had a pie for the family among the other desserts.” Through her service to the parish with Helping Hands, Karen has been able to grow both in fellowship and faith. “I grow every day in faith, and every reception seems to bring us closer to the Lord,” she says. “I like to go in a bit early before anyone else gets there, and my husband always says, ‘Talk to Mary, she’ll help you,’ so I go in and talk to Mary. We have a statue that we always put out on the reception table, and everyone knows the statue — if someone gets there and she’s not out yet, they always say, ‘We have to get Mary out!’” For Karen, involvement in the Helping Hands Ministry has helped her and Mark further establish roots of faith and fellowship here in our parish. “When Mark and I became involved with Helping Hands, we started meeting the people of the church,” she says. “I have met so many people now, and they know us — the church is like our second home.”
Anyone is welcome to get involved in Helping Hands Ministry! If you would like more information, please contact Karen and Mark Frederick at 530-432-1739 or jmarkk2@sbcglobal.net.
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Patrick's P A R I SH
Stewardship: The Four Pillars Y
ou’ve heard about the three Ts of stewardship, but what about the four Ps, or Four Pillars of Stewardship? The three Ts – Time, Talent, and Treasure – describe the personal gifts we offer to the Church. The four Ps are the Four Pillars of Parish Stewardship described by the renowned pastor Msgr. Thomas McGread. They are the hallmark of a stewardship parish – Hospitality, Prayer, Formation, and Service. Let’s take a look at each of them to understand how we can improve in each area. Hospitality Christian Kindness “When I was a stranger, you welcomed me” (Matthew 25:35). The Gospel teaches that whenever we welcome the least of our brothers or sisters, we welcome Christ Himself. That is why the first mark of a stewardship parish is hospitality. Being friendly is one of the first ways we can be Christ-like toward others. Modern Catholic parishes are often so large and have so many Masses that many parishioners don’t know one another. To create a sense of community, be sure to smile and greet others as you enter and exit the Church. Let’s try harder than ever to be a welcoming community. Prayer Heart-to-Heart with God “Do not become so involved in the work of the Lord that you forget the Lord of the work,” a seminary professor once taught. In other words, don’t get so caught up with parish projects and outreach efforts that you forget to draw aside to spend time with God in prayer. Every great saint has taught that prayer is the most essential component in the life of the Christian. Through prayer, we nurture our most important relationship – the one that will last for all eternity. A healthy prayer life should include communal prayer such as Mass, as well as personal prayer and family prayer. The two biggest obstacles to prayer are lack of time and lack of understanding of how to pray. We have to schedule time for prayer just as we would for an important appointment. And we have to learn how to pray from other people. Many saints have written spiritual books that describe different methods of prayer.
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Formation Continuous Conversion Pope John Paul II always emphasized ongoing conversion. From childhood through adulthood, our whole life must be a process of drawing closer to God. He never stops calling us forward to learn more and to examine ourselves more deeply. Very often our society values material things more than interior virtues. But as personal experience shows, when we finally acquire the car or house or “toy” that we wanted so badly, it doesn’t really satisfy. On the other hand, we don’t tend to desire spiritual virtues with the same kind of longing, but when we actually have them, we find them far more rewarding than material things. Service Love in Action “Amen I say to you, whatever you did to the least of my brothers, you did it to me” (Matthew 25:40). This Scripture was one of St. Teresa of Calcutta’s favorites. Each time she picked up a poor and hungry child, she knew she was ministering to Christ. While we may not view ourselves as saints, we too are called to such heroic service right within our own community. As St. Teresa of Calcutta said, “To be a saint is not the privilege of a few, but the duty of everyone.” We have many service opportunities right here within our own parish. If you have the willingness to serve and take the initiative to find where you are needed, you’ll find that there is no end to the families and individuals who truly need help. How can you reach out to them in love?
The Interfaith Food Ministry I
A Community-Wide Effort Providing Nourishment for Body and Soul
n its 34 years of service, the foods they cannot sell, area Interfaith Food Ministry has farmers offer produce from worked to carry out the goal of their fields, and individuals “feeding families... fueling hope” also make donations that enable by sharing the love of Christ with the ministry to provide pasta, food to sustain bodies and faith to canned tuna, chicken, hot dogs, sustain souls. marinara sauce, and the like. The Linda and Gary Grube of local Starbucks stores donate St. Patrick's Parish are longtime dessert and breakfast sandwich volunteers with this ministry selections. The U.S. Food and that brings together Catholics, Drug Administration donates members of other local churches, boxes of staples. There are food and those who have no church, all items that require no cooking working together to provide food or preparation that are offered for those in need. to any homeless seeking help. “It’s not a Catholic-based People with lactose or gluten stewardship, but a communityissues can be served, as can based stewardship,” Linda says. those with diabetes. With some “There are so many advance notice, birthday cakes participants in the community are provided. And for our animal who help donate and make it companions, dog, and cat food is Linda Grube, a St. Patrick Parishioner, work.” available, too. volunteers with her husband, Gary, at The ministry, located at 440 “We also started gardens in the Interfaith Food Ministry. She places Henderson St. in Grass Valley, little plots where some of the containers in our church for food donations. has seen the need for its services volunteers are growing our own With the approaching holidays, monetary grow, with 11,000 persons produce,” Linda says. donations are especially appreciated. Please helped this year alone. This is With the approaching visit interfaithfoodministry.org for details. holidays, the Interfaith Food a 40-percent increase over last year’s total. Ministry will offer an “Adopt a Family” program, as Interfaith Food Ministry is open five days a week, well as cards that can be purchased for a cash donation with distribution done on Monday, Wednesday, and of $20. The cards state that a donation was given in the Friday. Tuesday and Thursday are stocking and sorting recipient’s name to the Interfaith Food Ministry. The days. Those needing food, whether they are a family funds raised through the card sales go to purchase food or a single person, may come in once a week for food. for families of four for Thanksgiving or Christmas. The With COVID-19 restrictions in place, all the service agency also will be providing turkeys at Thanksgiving currently is being done on a drive-thru basis. and hams at Christmas. Area businesses and organizations generously One word that Linda often uses when discussing donate an abundance of different foods for the the Interfaith Food Ministry is “amazing” — it Interfaith Food Ministry. Grocery stores donate describes not only the generosity of donors to the
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St.
Patrick's P A R I SH 235 Chapel Street Grass Valley, CA 95945 (530) 273-2347 stpatrickgrassvalley.org
The Interfaith Food Ministry ministry but also the work of the 500-plus volunteers, as well as the welcome and hospitality offered by the agency itself. That tone is set by the director and assistant director. There are long hours of volunteer work, to be sure, but Linda and Gary view it as serving Christ. “It is so much fun!” Linda says. “Everyone is so helpful. We are all called to do this.” Those volunteering cover all ages and life situations. “The people from the homeless shelter across the
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street come to work,” Linda says. “They come quite often. We have people from all walks of life coming to do God’s work. I look forward to it.” At one time, Linda was challenged to think about what she was looking for in volunteering. Was she looking for joy or peace? “After five hours of work, I come home exhausted but satisfied and peace-filled,” she says. “It is a joy to be there. What I feel is content that comes from doing what God wants us to do.”
Volunteers are always welcome. There are tasks to suit everyone, whether it is meeting with agency clients, or helping to sort groceries. Anyone interested is invited to stop by the agency, or visit the website at interfaithfoodministry.org and see what the Interfaith Food Ministry is about!
MASS SCHEDULE Monday-Saturday: Daily Mass at 8:30 a.m. | Saturday Vigil Mass: 5 p.m. | Sunday Mass: 7:30 a.m., 9 a.m., 11 a.m., 1 p.m. (Spanish)