Letter from the Bishop:

Diocese of Worcester
Office of the Bishop
40 Elm Street
Worcester, Massachusetts 01609

April 9, 2008

My dear brothers and sisters in Christ,

I write to you to offer my congratulations on the important endeavor which now begins at Mary Queen of the Rosary Parish. I am happy to support 'Honoring Our Past...Preparing For Our Future,' the parish capital campaign, and have done so since its inception many months ago. I have been delighted by the considerable efforts of the parish campaign committee and am deeply impressed by your spirit and the goodness which you have demonstrated thus far.

It is my hope that every parishioner will make an impact on this special appeal through your personal support and generosity. Your participation in the campaign is necessary if the parish is to meet its goal of raising $1,234,000. As you have been told, the campaign will help to address significant needs at the church, which include the installation of an elevator, the completion of a new kitchen and modern rest rooms and classroom partitions. It also includes the renovation work on the roof and exterior of the church which has been completed.

Through your personal commitment, you will help to guarantee the success of the campaign. You will also provide an inspiring Christian example of faith to all your fellow parishioners.

As you know, your gift to the campaign also embraces the charitable, educational and ministerial mission of the Diocese of Worcester in 2008. We will not conduct the Annual Partners in Charity Appeal in your parish this year for we did not want to conduct two financial appeals simultaneously. However, as you will hear, a small portion of the total campaign results will be designated to support all those people throughout the Diocese who look to us for hope. For your generosity, I am very grateful.

Please be assured that I am praying for the success of the campaign. May the Blessed Mother, Queen of the Rosary, bless our efforts!

Thanking you for your goodness and generosity, and with every prayerful best wish, I am

Sincerely yours in Christ,

Most Reverend Robert J. McManus Bishop of Worcester

Letter from our Pastor, Fr. James Hoey:

Dear Parishoners :

We are celebrating the season of Easter , the  season of new hope and new life. This season has a special meaning this year for us at Mary Queen of the Rosary  as we begin our capital fund drive to make our parish church more accessible to all.

I encountered a member of the parish the other evening. She was coming up from an event in the hall to attend Mass. She looked at me and said “ I will be so glad when we get an elevator.” This was a difficult climb. Another older parishioner struggled her way   to the bathroom during Mass on Sunday morning. Watching her try to get down the stairs made me more convinced that we are doing the right thing. The same story is repeated after every funeral when people return from the cemetery and have to stand in line to use our present  bathrooms. If we are to continue to be a welcoming parish community , we need to address these needs.

The theme of our parish drive is Honoring the Past... Preparing for the Future. This appeal comes at a time when the economy is not strong. To have a successful drive is going to mean sacrifice on the part of each of us. What we are being asked  to do is the same thing that was done by those whose memory we honor. At the most difficult of times, they built churches that answered the needs of the people of their times.In their spirit we need to rebuild and renew our church to provide for the needs of the present and for those who will come after us .Grateful for the past I ask your generous support of our future.

-Fr. Jim  

Parish Capital Campaign Kickoff Weekend
Homily for April 13, 2008 — the Fourth Sunday of Easter
Fr. Jim Hoey
View Scripture Readings

The story is told that the faculty of a small college had gathered together for their weekly faculty meeting. A professor of archaeology brought with him a lamp recently unearthed in the Middle East . It was reported to contain a “genie” who, when the lamp was rubbed, would appear and grant one wish.

A professor of philosophy who was at the meeting was intrigued by this. He grabbed the lamp and rubbed it vigorously. Suddenly, a genie did appeared and made him an offer. He could choose one of three rewards: wealth, wisdom, or beauty. Without hesitating, the philosophy professor selected “wisdom.” “Done!” said the genie and disappeared in a cloud of smoke.

All the other faculty members turned toward the philosophy professor who was surrounded by a shroud of light, and finally one said softly, “Say something. What wise insight do you have now?” And the professor — much wiser now — sighed and said, “I should have taken the money.”

Today's homily, which is the kickoff of our Capital Funds Campaign, will be mostly about the wisdom and very little about the money. It's about the wisdom that we learn from the Word of God we hear today, a word that describes the life of the early Church. The early Church was a Resurrection Church . It founds its' meaning — its reason for existing — from its' belief in Jesus, the Risen Lord — the Jesus whom we hear today reveal Himself as the gate that opens the way for us to live; the Shepherd who leads us along right paths; Jesus who promises abundant life, life to those wise enough to follow Him.

The early Church grew because that basic Wisdom was proclaimed loud and strong. We heard it in the first reading. “God has made both Lord and Christ this Jesus whom you crucified”. And that church grew because those who heard that proclamation were wise enough to respond and ask a basic question: “What are we to do?” And when they were told, “Repent; be baptized” they received the Holy Spirit, and with it, all the wisdom that he spirit brings. And 3,000 new members were added that day.

But it was not enough to ask that question just once. After they were baptized, they needed to ask it again. Now what? “What are we to do, Brothers,” And the answer was “ Live your faith” and in the living of their faith with both its persecutions and its triumphs, the Resurrection Church came to life.

As we gather to begin our Capital Funds Campaign, a campaign designed to Honor the Past and Prepare for the Future , we need to ask the same question and seek the same wisdom they sought. “Brothers and sisters, what are we to do?” — we who have been baptized, we who have been given the Spirit, we who are the Church today — what are we to do in response to this Wisdom? It was a question asked over and over again in the history of the Church. It was asked by our ancestors here in Spencer in the late 1800s when there was a great influx of Catholics into our town. And what was their answer: to build — to build a larger church to answer the needs of the growing community and to build a second church to answer the specific needs of the newly-arrived French Canadian population. They sacrificed greatly to do it — and it was right thing to do for that time.

But now, in the early 2000s, we ask it again — we who are baptized, we who have received the Spirit — what are we to do now to be a Resurrection Church, a living sign of His presence in today's world ? And the answer we have come up with is that now we need more than any one thing is to be one, to be united, to stand in witness against a divided world. And we need to be a welcoming community to all who want to be with us.

To do this.we need a building that will make it possible for today's Catholic community

In doing this we Honor the Past . We take the faith we were given, and we carry it on. We Prepare for the Future , leaving our legacy for future generations. Our support of this Campaign is really not so much about money. (Although let's be honest: if we do not get the money, we can't do the work.) But, it's more about faith in the Resurrection and that a resurrection church can happen now.

If we reflect, the Lord has been really good to us. It's been twenty years since we first began this process with one staff for two parishes (June 1, 1988). It's been fourteen years since we were merged into one parish (.and it had taken us a good part of that to accept it). During those years, God has opened many gates for us, helped us to overcome many obstacles, led us along many paths — some of darkness, some of light, refreshing, nourishing, healing us as our Good Shepherd. Some may say that parish in Spencer have been “guinea pigs,” but what we have really been is “pioneers” for what will happen in many parishes in the near future, both in our diocese and beyond

And so, in the light of all this: what are we to do Brothers and sisters to assure that a Resurrection church — one that offers abundant life in continues here in Spencer. I think we all know the answer — and it doesn't come from a genie.