At times it seems like parish ministry and life are a serious of hellos and goodbyes, especially at this time of year. We have just said goodbye to Fr. Ron St. Pierre who was with us for five months and has moved into the three church collaborative in Billerica. He sends his greetings and thanks for his time spent with us.  Then this past Monday Fr. Peter Devlin arrived from Dublin to spend the next few weeks with us. As always I am pleased to have him with us and pray for sunshine over this time. Be sure to welcome him as well.

After many years with us as religious education secretary and four as the coordinator of grades k – 5, Pat Conte has decide to retire from this position. She intends to stay on as the first contact for baptisms, and weddings, and will continue with her involvement in the liturgical ministry.

I am and have been extremely grateful to Pat for stepping up to the plate when the former director resigned in the middle of the year. Pat has done a wonderful job coordinating   these grade levels. Her dedication and commitment are second to none.  We will miss her in this role but I am glad she will still be around! Thanks Pat. I do have someone lined up to take over this position….more on that later.

Also our music director, Tim Wirth, will be leaving us on June 5. As many of you know Tim got married this past year. His wife has been a medical student at U Mass Medical School, graduating this spring. She has received her internship assignment which is in Pennsylvania. Tim decided that was too long a commute so he had to resign. Again I am grateful to Tim for stepping in last year and the smooth transition he facilitated. We will miss him but hope for his continued happiness and success.

You may have noticed some new organists playing at the 4 p.m. Mass. We have two candidates for Tim’s position and will announce his replacement soon.

A lot of hellos and goodbyes!