My dear families of Our Lady of the Assumption,

As we travel into a new year of Discipleship Formation, we thank you for prioritizing your family’s faith. There is great energy at OLA for all of the wonderful things happening! If you have not heard, the Vietnamese Community will be joining us as of
this Sunday, and having their masses at 10:30 on the 1 st and 3 rd Sundays of the month.

We welcome our new parishioners with great excitement and hope they find their home here with us to be one of caring and welcome. As with any growth, there will be adjustments, so please bear with me if schedules change or rooms get moved at times. We will thoroughly enjoy the busyness of our beautiful building and community space!

As we will hear in this week’s Gospel reading on Sunday, there are many things that can get in the way of being a disciple of Jesus. We all carry crosses, but as one family in faith we can help each other along the way. I fully understand the pressures on families in today’s society and have great empathy for the decisions you are called to make day by day, and even moment by moment at times. But know this, we are here FOR you, and with you, every step of the way. Our faith exists because of the
LOVE the Lord has for us, just as your family exists because of the love that brought it to life. I pray that we all spend this year getting to free ourselves of what the world says, and go back to the unconditional love the Father has for us. Isn’t that the world we want our children to know and grow in?

So as we enter into the next few months, let’s do our best to prioritize loving and caring for one another as Christ cares for His church. When your child is struggling, trust that we care why. When your family is going through challenges, let us walk beside you and support you. When your family is experiencing great joy, allow us to celebrate with you! We understand you are doing your best, and please know that we are too. Communication is KEY to us all working together! If you have not already,
please add youthola@olalatham.org, and ffadmin@olalatham.org to your address book so our emails do not wind up in spam. Also, if you prefer a text rather than an email, please let us know that too. I am hoping to utilize that as often as possible so communication is not lost.

Things are a little different in the office, and every day brings a new challenge. So, if I don’t get it right the first time, or if you need to share something with me twice, or I ask you to kindly put it in writing instead of telling me in the hallway, please understand I too am doing my best to balance it all with God’s help! I love this parish family as my own, and I pray you all feel that when you think of OLA. Do not ever hesitate to reach out about anything. Like I said at the beginning of this letter, we are here FOR you. If you can support us by being here a few times a year, so we can offer safety and security to our families and children on Sundays and Mondays, we appreciate any assistance you can give. We have a special place in our hearts for our volunteers! Look for the SignUp Genius coming your way soon via email. Blessings to all as you begin a new school year. We are holding you all in prayer.

Peace and blessings,

Rosemary Gavin

Pastorial Assoc. for Faith Formation & Youth Ministry