I haven't felt the need to write before, however, some comments that Fr. Dunlap made at mass 2 weeks ago troubled me. Fr. stated that he's been trying for 18 years to get the parishioners to admit that Visitation is a large parish. Well, the relatively small number of regular mass goers doesn't make it feel that way. We see the same fellow parishioners week after week, see the same names as committee members and volunteers, etc. While the physical size of the territory that Visitation Parish encompasses may be fairly large, the actual participating members is not.
What really troubles me is that Fr. Dunlap seems to feel that Visitation is a rich, or at least, well-off parish. This is not the case. It seems to me that a large percentage of regular church goers is is made up of retired people living on social security, and another percentage of young families struggling to make ends meet in the current trying economic climate.
I, myself am a single person who is barely holding on to my house and standard of living. I wish I could offer more of my "time, talent and treasure" to my parish but I have no treasure to share, and my time is limited by the need to work more than one full time job in order to survive.
Please, Father Dunlap, don't let the presence of those few, big, rich estates along the Metedeconk make you think that your parishioners are wealthy and just choosing not to donate to the church.
Thank you for the chance to express my opinion.
DM Runyon
Monday, February 16, 2009
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ReplyDeleteDear DMR,
ReplyDeleteThere is a passage in Mark's Gospel that reads: "He sat down opposite the treasury and observed how the crowd put money into the treasury. Many rich people put in large sums. A poor widow also came and put in two small coins worth a few cents. Calling his disciples to himself, he said to them, 'Amen, I say to you, this poor widow put in more than all the other contributors to the treasury. For they have all contributed from their surplus wealth, but she, from her poverty, has contributed all she had, her whole livelihood.'"
If whatever you are contributing is a sacrifice for you then know that God measures the degree of your charity not the amount and He will return to you a hundred fold because He knows what is in your heart.
Lou Barbuscio