St. Pius Catholic Church

This past week you should have received in the mail a parish survey from our Parish Council.  If you prefer to respond on-line you can access the survey on the parish web site at www.stpiusri.org.   I urge that you respond to this survey so that the Council has an accurate understanding of the needs of our parish.  In that same mailing, on the reverse side of the letter from Cathie Whiteside, Council President, and myself, there is a volunteer form.  Please complete it and get it back to us so that we have a record of your areas of interest for service in our parish.  Remember, the survey is anonymous; the volunteer form needs your signature.
    Speaking of the Parish council, it meets this Wednesday evening at 7PM in Farrell Hall.  These are open meetings if you would like to join us.  Another way to learn more about the working of our parish is to attend Ask Fr. Mike Night this Thursday evening.  Both events should prove to be informative.
    Next Sunday, January 24 at 4PM, we will celebrate the annual Day of Prayer for Christian Unity.  Last year we hosted this gathering at our church.  This year it will be held at First Congregational Church in Moline near Trimble Funeral Home at the foot of the I-74 Bridge.  There will be a combined choir and a great speaker.  Hope to see you there so we can keep the spirit of ecumenism alive.
    Personally, as we say farewell to one year and welcome another, I’m glad the cold weather has loosened its grip on us.  All work on my kitchen renovation project at the farm has ceased for the season.  It’s been over a year since I was troubled by a torn meniscus which ultimately did not require surgery, and by a case of the shingles that gradually were healed as 2009 progressed.  This past duck hunting season I had plantar fasciitis, an inflammation of tissue on the bottom of my foot.  While this has definitely put an end to my ballet career, the most difficult thing to accept with this ailment is the doctor’s diagnosis of the cause. 
    On my prescription for orthotics, he wrote that the condition was “due to old age.”  That, coupled with the fact that I’ll begin to receive Social Security Benefits in two months, leads me to the conclusion that 2010 is a year, more than any before it, for me to give thanks to the Lord for each and every day, no matter the weather, no matter the problems.  January is a month set aside for all of us to be grateful for Human Life and to rededicate ourselves to supporting Life.  One way to do that is to attend the Knights of Columbus Pro-Life Breakfast next Sunday at Farrell Hall from 7:45 AM to 12:30 PM.  See you there!
                            Mike Schaab, Pastor