Tag Archives: celebration

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Of deadlines, celebrations and new challenges…….

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It is getting down to the wire for our move of St. Patrick’s Mission to Westfield. I stopped by there today and it had yet to be painted, let alone carpeted or the “Animal Hospital” sign taken down from above the door (it’s big!). But too much has happened to lead us to this point, and I am certain that by Sunday morning at 9 we will be up and ready to go. (Okay, hopefully by Saturday night because we need to move in our furniture!)

My life is often like this though, high stress and deadlines. And though it often makes things a bit intense, it is also exciting in that it always seems to work out. Living in a way that counts on God to do His part takes a lot of faith, but I can tell you it works time and time again!

On Sunday we will rejoice heartily at what He has done, and then we will set our sights on something new. We have lots to do and there is never a dull moment…..but that’s the way we like it.

God’s call to us is new every morning…..we can only imagine what He calls us to in the next new day!

Goodnight my friends and God Bless!

Tom+

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A day of transition………

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Tomorrow is a monumental day. Tomorrow the people of one of our Missions, St. Patrick’s, will gather for the last time at the Hamilton County Fairgrounds. And at the moment we leave the building tomorrow we will no longer be St. Patrick’s Noblesville, but rather St. Patrick’s Westfield! Yes, after well over a year in the Fairgrounds, St. Patrick’s will move to a new permanent facility!

I wish to publicly thank the staff of the Hamilton County Fairgrounds for all their hard work and support of us as we launched there. We were not the first Church they provided a home for and we certainly will not be the last. They are great people and a friendly lot, and though we are excited about moving, we will miss them.

So it is off to bed for me at just shy of 11pm tonight. I will be excited to see morning come. Tomorrow is going to be a great day!

Good night and God Bless.

Fr. Tom+

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The Birth/Restoration of a Church…………..

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Well I am back! And I have God to thank for the day I have had! I not only was able to be a part of a historic celebration as Orthodox Anglicanism gathered together to form a new Church, but I was able to do so and travel safely both ways all in one day, despite a snow storm during the day. It was remarkable in many ways!

What basically has happened in all of this is that a groups of Orthodox Anglican Churches, all part of what we have known as Common Cause, have come together to form ONE CHURCH. It was done at the request of the GAFCON Primates, who have worked hard to rescue biblical Anglicanism in North America, and who wanted to see all these pieces unify to form a new Province. It was a miracle, in that many different jurisdictions set aside differences in order to move toward the COMMON CAUSE……serving Christ through the formation on ONE Orthodox Church in North America. We now are a part of something even bigger, and have gathered as one under Christ and the direction of our now Primate/Archbishop-elect, Bishop Bob Duncan of Pittsburgh!

As a priest of many years, what makes this so amazing is that this reformation is something that will be written about in Church History textbooks in years to come. It is a joyous thing, and an important things, but more of just a starting line rather than a destination. The Lord has restored the Church through this rebirth, and now sets before us the task of ministry!

That’s right, a Church has been born and now it is time for action. Jesus calls us to fulfill our ministry, and in many ways it has just begun! But praise God! We are much more than we were the day before. Keep praying! The Lord is doing miraculous things! Look around! Can you see them?

God bless you my friends.

Fr. Tom+

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A tribute to our very own Neil Armstrong………

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There he stood at the edge of his Playskool walker. It was a moment he had been preparing for his entire life. I swear I heard the words, “One small step for man, one giant leap for mankind,” though all Amanda heard was “ba ba ba.” And then it happened, history was made……Ben took his first step all alone.

Of course my attempts to alert the media fell on deaf ears! You’d think they would be covering such a big event. But these days if it doesn’t involve Brittany, Lindsay, or some dysfunctional sports figure, then they consider it a “non-event.” To us however, it was and is a pretty big thing.

It comes however despite my warnings to my wife and even to Ben himself. Knowing what I know as a parent of over 16 years, I have asked him (Ben), and pleaded with him to not to begin walking. And it’s with good reason too. Steph and Scott started walking many years ago I have been chasing them ever since. I am older now, and it may kill me to chase another! But alas, no one but me seems to care, so I guess, despite the risk, I’ll be chasing him too, but I will do so with a smile on my face. He’s a pretty cute little baby, and he seems to enjoy the thrill of the steps. Who would want to deprive him of that?

Big steps, big day, big celebration! God is always full of surprises and blessings. I will count this one in the win column as a wonderful and special day! I hope yours has been just as wonderful!

God bless.

Tom+

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Of lacrosse, awards, goals, and the future……..

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Tonight was a spectacular night! We were able to join a few hundred people for the Noblesville Lacrosse Awards Banquet. Both our boys’ and girls’ varsity teams received awards, as well as our boys’ JV. Next year we will add a girls’ JV as well.

The awards banquet was a big marker for me. It was a goal I had to finish this first season even before I had the stroke. And then after having it, getting to that banquet became even more important to me.

I had to speak at the banquet, and remember things without notes, and do so in front of this large crowd as we presented our part, the girls’ varsity awards. My Assistant Coach Lisa Corry had it all laid out and was there to help me fumble through what I had to say, but it was important to do because the Noblesville Lacrosse community is made up of some of the finest people I have ever met. They were there for me when I had my stroke. They stepped up for the girls during that time too. They brought the entire girls’ team into their already existing club and have helped us to develop. And all they did for Michael Treinen and his family was one of the most remarkable things I have ever been a part of. These are not just people who are good at running a lacrosse program, these are good people. And it was an honor, and important to be among them. I think I did okay, but Lord only knows….I will have to ask my wife.

We gave out the awards and celebrated a great year. It was a blast. I wish I had an award for each of them. They are all great girls and we wouldn’t have been the team we were without even one of them. Our three seniors who graduated will be missed, but college calls, and they are fine young women who will all do well. I was honored to be able to coach all of them this year. I hope that came across.

The hardest part, and a huge honor for me was to bestow the award for the Most Valuable Player which is among a few of the awards that the players vote on, not the coaches. This year it went to my daughter Stephanie, and I got pretty choked up as I read her name. She is a great player among many, and it was a big honor to be chosen by her teammates. As I talked to her about it later she said it was both a surprise and an honor, but then she started to talk about next year. As a matter of fact, most of the girls I talked to did. They are great kids, but they have become athletes and their focus is strong. It is awesome to see them develop as a team.

So today was a great day of both accomplishment and joy. I am glad however that it is over. I will need the night to rest and recover. Few days in my life have been better. I have great kids, I am surrounded by remarkable people, and life is getting better each day!

I best go to bed before something goes wrong!

Night and God bless!

Tom+