Before I forget&

     Bishop Ken Carder, Methodist Bishop from Mississippi, tells this story:
          A young man interested in maintaining his good health went running each morning along a beautiful lakeshore.  The running trail was well marked and clear.  As the young man ran, he marveled at the beauty of the lake, the trees that lined the shore and the clear blue sky that tented them.
          One day, as he was running, he tripped suddenly on a bent up old soda can.  He stopped, reached down, and picked up the piece of trash intending to carry it to the garbage can at the end of his run.  He noticed that there was quite a bit of trash that lay along the trail.  He thought to himself, "What I should do, since I am running here each day, is to pick up the trash as I go along.  I will help the environment and keep the trail clean and beautiful for others."
          So, as he ran, he began to keep his eyes focused downward looking for the trash and he spotted it, he would pick it up and take it to the garbage can.
          One morning, after some weeks of picking up the trash, the young man experienced a cramp in his leg while running.  He stopped to stretch.  As he did so, he looked around him and marveled at how beautiful the lake was, how magnificent the trees were that lined the lake, and how clear and blue the sky was that tented them.  He was astonished at the beauty that surrounded him.  "My goodness", he thought to himself: "why had I not noticed how beautiful it is?"
          The young man realized that he had focused so much on the trash that he had failed to see the magnificent beauty of his surroundings.

     Do you enjoy October?  I think it's been a beautiful month:  the blue skies, the red and gold leaves on the trees, the moon at night.  We are constantly surrounded by beauty during the autumn months in Minnesota.  It brings back memories of youthful days playing pick-up football games on Saturday afternoons during high school.  I think October brings back a lot of memories for me for some strange reason.
     Memories of the past can be wonderful for some of us, painful for some of us.  What about the present?  As I reflect on October 2001, I see much beauty, 99% of the time, ok, 98% of the time if I'm honest, I really enjoy my life and ministry as pastor of St. John's!  98% is an A+.  You are good people.  I'm overwhelmed at your generosity to the parish, to the needy, to the people of God wherever they are.  I think our parish is very alive and vibrant... great things happen everyday as we live our faith lives for the honor and glory of God.  And I believe that our new Pastoral Center is going to bring us closer together and help take some of the "BIGNESS" out of St. John's.
     It's always easy to see the failings of others and ourselves.  As we live and walk in beauty, there is trash around us.  But, like the runner in the story, I don't want to miss the beauty and greatness of parish life.  We are priests and parishioners, living the gospel, serving a God of love, serving one another, carrying one another's burdens.  We have our problems and failings, but in the midst of it all, God is doing marvelous things in our lives and in the parish.  Try not to miss it!
     Father Michael and myself are privileged to be your priests at this time.  God "uses" us to bring the forgiveness, love, and creative power of God to people like you.  Priesthood is an overwhelming and beautiful vocation.  It's not always an easy vocation, but neither is marriage nor the single life always easy.  Our primary task is to gather parishioners for prayer, to share the word of God and the Eucharist with them, and to encourage people to trust God.  This is not a spiritual fantasy but a lived reality.  I see this happening every day as I journey in faith with you and yours.
     Being a priest, belonging to a large parish, means long hours, trying to juggle schedules, listening to a multitude of opinions and suggestions, heartache, a struggle to live a balanced life, calls in the middle of the night, living with pain--both others' pain and our own.  But priesthood is also filled with good people who become our friends, laughter, music, food, hope and joy.
     Knowing people like you make a priest deepen his faith in the goodness of God.  You make me want to do the best I can.  Thanks.

     Fr. Bill