St Feehans on Chestnut Ridge Road

The picture on the left is from Genesee Country Museum in Mumford.



Over one hundred and fifty five years ago a small band of sturdy Irishmen built St. Feehan's Church in Chili from trees they felled themselves. The church was first situated down on swampy land near the railroad tracks that today runs parallel to 490. Within a year, with their own hands and without architect or contractor, they had completed St. Feehan's and affixed a simple wooden cross at its peak.

Due to the swampiness of the ground it made the church difficult to reach during certain seasons so it was moved to Chestnut Ridge Road (then it was called Sand Ridge). Until 1885, the church was a mission of the St. Mary of the Assumption in Scottsville whose priest would ride horseback or in a carriage each Sunday (back then there was no Mass of anticipation on Saturday, only on Sunday). The Scottsville priest also serve St. Patrick's in Mumford too.

Then, about 1885, as the railroad pushed through, it was decided the Churchville priest at St. Vincent dePaul could serve it better.

Priests serving St. Feehan's were in better shape!

The railroad tracks ran adjacent to the church property so, for years, until the arrival of the automobile, the Churchville priest would pump the eight miles from his own parish to St. Feehan's by rail hand car.

The picture is an example of a rail car. None of the men are priests.

St. Feehan's had known ups and downs (no pun in-10-did) through the years. For a time, when populations seemed to be shifting towards the city of Rochester, its congregation dwindled. But as the World War II families started moving to the suburbs, there was an upsurge of parishioners. By way of interest, St. Feehan's was originally spelled "Fechan" after an Irish saint whose history is somewhat obscure.

In 1954, Bishop James E. Kearney thought that St. Feehan was unknown to the people, and since St. Pius Tenth had just been canonized, he decided to dedicate a new parish in Chili to the honor of the new saint. St. Feehan's was temporarily used as a youth center, and its pews were discarded. Those pews installed in St. Feehan's during its restoration came from St. Mary's in Scottsville. The pews in St. Feehan's today are those upon which its builders sat when they journeyed to Scottsville to attend Mass before their own church was built.

Where did St. Feehan's go?

Today, St. Feehan's is the Catholic Church at Genesee Country Museum in Mumford. It was the site of a Tridentine Latin Nupital Mass for a friend of mine in the spring of 1993. That is a story all by itself.

An Archibshop With Courage and Sanity

Sanity to think the right action, courage to do it. Below is the story which explains:

Archbishop Suspends Communion in the Hand To Avoid Abuses of Eucharist

Rome, Italy, May 11, 2009 (CNA).- The Archbishop of Bologna, Cardinal Carlo Caffarra, has prohibited the reception of communion in the hand in three parishes of his archdiocese and has asked priests to be on the watch for those who may be abusing the Eucharist.

The archdiocesan press office released a statement with the new guidelines established by the cardinal. It pointed out that in 1989, “the resolution of the Italian Bishops’ Conference came into effect, authorizing, with the approval of the Holy See, the distribution of Holy Communion in the hand.”

However, the statement noted, recently there have been reports that this privilege has been gravely abused. Consequently, Cardinal Caffarra has decided that at the Cathedral of St. Peter, at the Basilica of St. Petronius and at the Shrine of the Virgin of St. Luke, “communion shall be distributed to the faithful only on the tongue.”

According to a letter by the vicar general of Bologna, Msgr. Gabriele Cavina, “grave abuses” have taken place, as “some have taken the Sacred Species as ‘souvenirs’,” “put it up for sale,” or worse, “have taken it to be profaned in satanic rites.”

The priest explained that numerous cases of profanation of the Eucharist has been by individuals who have taken advantage of the option to receive communion in the hand, especially during large celebrations or at churches attended by large numbers of the faithful. “For this reason, it is best to control the moment of the reception of Holy Communion by following the common norms which are well-known.”

Cardinal Caffarra said that during Mass, ushers should ensure that each person who approaches the altar to receive communion “consumes the host immediately and that no one be allowed to walk away with the Eucharist in their hands or to place it in their pockets.”

Conclave: Part Four

Well, it looks as if Fr. McKenna has been eliminated. Now it is down to Fr. Antinarelli and Fr. Bonsignore. Who could have guessed? The next (last?) session is posted to your right. I would deeply appreciate it if we made this decisive, because we are looking for a 2/3 majority, plus 1. If it's a deadlock, we will start a little debate as to who should be bishop and why.

Happy voting.

Boil, Boil, Toil and Trouble

A supporter of the blog has emailed me a notice, telling me to peruse the Good Shepherd bulletin. I thought, "okay, sure. What pronoun got minced now?" Oh, I was wrong . . . so wrong. My comments are the ones in red. The rest flows from Priestess DeRycke's venomous pen.

Liturgical Ministries Appreciation
Vatican II leaders reminded us many years ago that "Liturgy is the work of the people." (Get ready. Here we go, folks!) As we gather to pray as a community, we all bring what we have (talents, joy, sorrows, needs, hopes, disappointments, understandings, questions, successes, failures, hurts—and a lot of “etc.”) to do what we can to renew our "PACT" with God and God's people — to work together. What PACT? Praise, Ask, Contrition, Thank. This weekend, we will be blessing Liturgical Ministers at all Masses. (You, a lay woman, have no authority whatsoever, by any stretch of any imagination. The pope has been clear. It is illicit.) We are so very fortunate to have so many people involved in our Liturgical Ministries—THANK YOU ONE ALL:
Planners, the Liturgy, Joint, and Children/Teen Liturgy Committees, who strive to make
our liturgies vibrant and prayerful. (The only Liturgy Planner should be the priest. I doubt very much that our teens have advanced liturgical degrees.)
Sacristans, working behind the scenes to prepare our worship space for weekly and
special liturgies (eg, funerals) and clean up and secure our building after celebrations. (Celebrations? Oh, yes, that's right. Jesus celebrated in the Upper Room with his Apostles. "Hey guys, you drink this stuff! It's better than Hawaiian Punch." Wrong. It was a sacrifice, and one which we re-live at every Mass. Yes, we celebrate Our Lord, but the Mass is a sacrifice beyond measure.)
Greeters, who arrive for Mass early to welcome us as we enter the building. (Quiet prayer isn't enough to prepare for Mass?)
Music Ministers, Choir Members, Cantors, and Instrumentalists who lead us in sung
prayer during Masses, special celebrations (i.e. Penance Services), and funerals.
Lectors, who proclaim God’s Word in Scripture at Masses and special liturgies.
Altar Servers, usually younger parishioners who assist the Presider at the altar. (Presider? they assist the presider? I thought that Altar Boys (and not altar girls) were supposed to assist the priest, the celebrant. Not the "presider.")
Eucharistic Ministers, who offer the Body and Blood of Christ to those gathered at Mass
and beyond, to those in hospitals, nursing homes, or the homebound. (I doubt very much whether these EM's are "offering the Body and Blood of Christ." They aren't the ones saying Mass. The priest does that. Oh, wait, I'm sorry. The "presider" does that.)
Ushers, who assist in welcoming and meeting the needs of people gathered for worship.
Gather/Children’s Liturgy of the Word Leaders, praying with our young people for the
first part of Sunday Masses.
Child Care and Babysitters, helping all to be comfortable during Liturgy. (Children should be quiet or removed. Sorry, but that's the way it is. If your child is acting more possessed than prayerful, you don't need a babysitter to care for them during Mass. You need to walk outside with your child, hold them and quiet them. Be a parent, not apathetic.)
Music Cart Distributors, families or individuals who hand out hymnals and/or tidy and
redistribute our hymnals on the carts to assure equitable distribution. (Because it's too hard to grab your own hymnal.)
Art and Environment Committee, who create and maintain an artistic, decorative
environment in our worship space and throughout the buildings and church grounds to
enhance all liturgical and parish celebrations. (So much to say. I'll let your minds take care of this.)
Wedding Coordinators, who assist in preparation, rehearsals and celebrations.
Flower Donators, bringing in requested flowers or items to enhance our worship space.
Liturgical Assistants, behind the scenes, attending to bells, annex, details, questions.
Presiders, Preachers, Deacons (I suppose "priest" is an illicit word for Mrs. DeRycke?)
Launderers of robes, altar cloths, linens
Cleaners of Church and Chapel
And for all the Assembly, those who gather to pray each week — All working together to make
our worship celebrations prayerful and meaningful. (Our Lord's Body and Blood are meaningful enough, thank you very much. I don't need some trippy teenage youthgroup to "enhance" my worship experience. "Kumbaya, My Lord, Kumbaya.")
If you would like to be part of one of these Liturgical Ministries in some way, please call the Parish Office or fill out a Stewardship card to let us know — someone will get back to you as soon as possible for introduction or training or whatever you need.
God bless your week! -Nancy

I look forward to your comments. I think I know what you will have to say.



(DISCLAIMER: THE ABOVE PHOTOGRAPH IS DEFINITELY NOT MEANT TO REPRESENT MRS. DERYCKE TOYING WITH LITURGY AND THE CHURCH. ANYONE WHO THINKS SUCH A THING SHOULD BE ABSOLUTELY AND UNDENIABLY ASHAMED AND SHOULD GO TO CONFESSION IMMEDIATELY.)

Diocesan Double Standard?

If someone is buried from Spiritus Christi Church why are they allowed to be buried at Holy Sepulchre Cemetery?

Why do I ask?

A very good friend was not allowed to be buried at Holy Sepulchre because he was buried from Holy Name of Mary Church on Winton Road.

I can't imagine the DoR would have a double standard.

Prayer

Sent to my email account.

I don't believe in Santa Claus, but I'm not going to sue
somebody for singing a Ho-Ho-Ho song in December. I don't
agree with Darwin ,but I didn't go out and hire a lawyer
when my high school teacher taught his Theory of
Evolution.

Life, liberty or your pursuit of happiness will not be
endangered because someone says a 30-second prayer before
a football game. So what's the big deal? It's not like
somebody is up there reading the entire Book of Acts.
They're just talking to a God they believe in and asking
him to grant safety to the players on the field and the
fans going home from the game.

But it's a Christian prayer, some will argue.

Yes, and this is the United States of America , a
country founded on Christian principles. According to our
very own phone book, Christian churches outnumber all
others better than 200-to-1. So what would you expect --
somebody chanting Hare Krishna?

If I went to a football game in Jerusalem , I would expect
to hear a Jewish prayer...

If I went to a soccer game in Baghdad , I would expect to
hear a Muslim prayer.

If I went to a ping pong match in China , I would expect
to hear someone pray to Buddha.

And I wouldn't be offended. It wouldn't bother me one bit.
When in Rome .....

But what about the atheists? Is another argument.

What about them? Nobody is asking them to be baptized.
We're not going to pass the collection plate.. Just
humor us for 30 seconds. If that's asking too much,
bring a Walkman or a pair of ear plugs. Go to the
bathroom. Visit the concession stand. Call your lawyer!

Unfortunately, one or two will make that call. One
or two will tell thousands what they can and cannot do.
I don't think a short prayer at a football game is going
to shake the world's foundations.

Christians are just sick and tired of turning the other
cheek while our courts strip us of all our rights. Our
parents and grandparents taught us to pray before eating,
to pray before we go to sleep. Our Bible tells us to pray
without ceasing. Now a handful of people and their lawyers
are telling us to cease praying.

God, help us. And if that last sentence offends you, well,
just sue me.

The silent majority has been silent too long. It's time we
tell that one or two who scream loud enough to be heard
that the vast majority doesn't care what they want. It is
time that the majority Rules! It's time we tell them, You
don't have to pray; you don't have to say the Pledge of
Allegiance; you don't have to believe in God or attend
services that honor Him. That is your right, and we will
honor your right; but by golly, you are no longer going
to take our rights away. We are fighting back, and
we WILL WIN!

God bless us one and all ... Especially those who denounce
Him, God bless America, despite all her faults. She is still
the greatest nation of all. God bless our service men who
are fighting to protect our right to pray and worship God.

Let's make 2009 the year the silent majority is heard and
we put God back as the foundation of our families and
institutions. And our military forces come home from all
the wars.

Keep looking up.

Our Friend, Shakespeare

I was rereading Hamlet this morning, just for the fun of it. What can I say? I'm a fan.

Anyways, I started to read over Hamlet's famous "To be or not to be" soliloquy, and discovered that is is amazingly pertininent to our efforts here and across the blogs of the Orthodox Underground. I quote the master below:

To be, or not to be: that is the question:
Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer
The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune,
Or to take arms against a sea of troubles,
And by opposing end them? To die: to sleep;
No more; and by a sleep to say we end
The heart-ache and the thousand natural shocks
That flesh is heir to, 'tis a consummation
Devoutly to be wish'd. To die, to sleep;
To sleep: perchance to dream: ay, there's the rub;
For in that sleep of death what dreams may come
When we have shuffled off this mortal coil,
Must give us pause: there's the respect
That makes calamity of so long life;
For who would bear the whips and scorns of time,
The oppressor's wrong, the proud man's contumely,
The pangs of disprized love, the law's delay,
The insolence of office and the spurns
That patient merit of the unworthy takes,
When he himself might his quietus make
With a bare bodkin? who would fardels bear,
To grunt and sweat under a weary life,
But that the dread of something after death,
The undiscover'd country from whose bourn
No traveller returns, puzzles the will
And makes us rather bear those ills we have
Than fly to others that we know not of?
Thus conscience does make cowards of us all;
And thus the native hue of resolution
Is sicklied o'er with the pale cast of thought,
And enterprises of great pitch and moment
With this regard their currents turn awry,
And lose the name of action.

The relevant passages are italicized for your convenience. For anyone who doubts that Shakespeare was a closet-Catholic, just read this and try to wrap your head around that which we call "reality."

Conclave: What Next?

There are, as I type, less than two hours left in Round Two. It looks as if Fr.'s Healy, Hart and Leone will be dropped from the ballot. Fr.'s Antinarelli, Bonsignore and McKenna will remain. The rules for election are simple: the "winning" priest must have a two-thirds vote, plus one. If after a third round no clear winner emerges, as per this guideline, I will simply drop the lowest candidate.

I am, personally, somewhat surprised by the third candidate. I was also pleasantly surprised by Fr. Leone's very high turnout on Day 1. It looks as if, no matter what way this election goes, we will have found a decent and worthy man.

I will begin round three as soon as I can. There may be a lapse of a few hours. But look on the bright side: I'm still marginally faster than Rome.

St. Josaphat's Ukrainian Catholic Church

St. Josaphat Ukrainian Catholic Church in Irondequoit is celebrating its 100th Anniversary in 2009. The history of the parish can be traced back to the arrival of the first Ukrainian immigrants to the Rochester area in 1903. As more immigrants arrived, there developed a need to provide for the religious and cultural life of the people. In the early years, priests would travel St. Josaphat Church from Auburn, Buffalo, Elmira Heights and Troy, New York to administer to the spiritual needs of the faithful.

In 1908, the Benevolent Fraternity of St. Josaphat, a branch of the Ukrainian National Association, was organized. This benevolent society and its membership were the pioneers of organized Ukrainian life in the Rochester area.

On November 15, 1908 the first official meeting of the Ukrainian Catholic Community took place a t St. Stanislaus Church with the serious intent of organizing a parish. At a meeting held on June 28, 1909, ninety three parishioners agreed to contribute 3 days salary to construct a church. The sum of $417.50 was collected. Land was purchased on Remington Street and the first St. Josaphat Church was complete in 1910.

The church community soon outgrew the Remington Street location and in 1914 the church moved to Hudson Avenue purchasing a church from the Evangelical society. St. Josaphat Church remained on Hudson Avenue for the next 50 years.

In 1923, Father Basil Turula was assigned to St. Josaphat Church. Father Turula remained as pastor until his retirement in January of 1949. Under his leadership the parish paid off all debts, a church hall was constructed and an evening school where religion, Ukrainian reading and writing, Ukrainian church and national songs and Ukrainian history were taught was organized.

In September of 1941, two Sister Servants of Mary Immaculate arrived in Rochester to conduct an evening school. An all-day school was formally opened in September 1944 with an enrollment of thirty-one students. By 1949, the enrollment grew to one hundred ninety students in grades kindergarten to eight. The school remained open until 2001.

On January 20, 1950, Father Nicholas Wolensky was assigned as pastor of St. Josaphat Church. He served as pastor until his death on November 23, 1962. Under Father Wolensky’s leadership a complete renovation of the church and school took place including the installation of a new Iconostasis. In addition a chapel was erected in the convent for the sisters.

In 1957, nine acres of land and two homes were purchased on Ridge Road and Stanton Lane along with the founding of St. Nicholas Chapel on the same site. This would be the future home of St. Josaphat parish.

On December 28, 1962, Father Stephen Chomko was appointed pastor of St. Josaphat. Under his guidance a new school, rectory and convent were built on the Ridge Road property. The church on Hudson Avenue was sold and St. Josaphat Ukrainian Catholic Church moved to Irondequoit. In 1979, a new church was completed at the Ridge Road site.

St. Josaphat Ukrainian Catholic Church served as a focal point of both religious and cultural life for the Ukrainian community in and around Rochester, New York for the past 100 years. Divine Liturgies are offered in both Ukrainian and English. The school is used by local Ukrainian organizations and groups for a variety of events and meetings. The Heritage Center features various exhibits of art, information on the history of the parish and information about the first Ukrainian pioneers of Rochester. For over 25 years, the four-day St. Josaphat’s Festival provided greater Rochester with traditional Ukrainian foods, Ukrainian arts and crafts, and Ukrainian entertainment.

The parish will officially celebrate its Centennial November 13, 14 and 15, 2009. A St. Josaphat School Alumni Reunion will be held on November 13, 2009, a Jubilee Banquet on November 14, 2009 and a pontifical Divine Liturgy on Sunday, November 15, 2009.

Musings From Sanctus: Bishop Casey Edition

I know I have mentioned a few times that Santus was a good friend of Bishop Casey. Of course, he remembers him even as Fr. Casey. I thought that you might enjoy reading his stories pertaining to this bishop.

• He never liked to walk alone. When I moved with my family to Flower City Park, he used to stop by and say, "Walk with me." So I would. He wouldn't say a word, and we'd just walk to the place he needed to get to, usually a parishioner's house. Then he'd just turn around and say, "Now go home. They don't want you to leach off their generosity." I used to get so upset! So one time I said, "No, I'm coming in." Well, I went in and he basically threw me into an armchair and said, "Don't talk." So I sat there eating candy and not talking. He was a funny one, Casey.
  
• I remember being at St. Mary's (school) downtown, and one day Sr. Mary called on me to recite Catechism. So I stood up and read the passage. Then she explained a little bit, and then said, "Sanctus, read more." I was so ticked off! Everyone thought I was in trouble or something, having to stand and recite Catechism for forty five minutes. And the way the classroom was, there was a big window and it faced the rectory. Well, Fr. Casey was pastor there at the time, and he was in the rectory, watching the class through the window. After school let out, he caught me in the yard and asked why I was standing for so long. "For cripe's sake, Fr," I said, "Sr. Mary had me read the whole darn Catechism!"
• Fr. Casey used to pick me up to serve Mass everywhere. I mean, everywhere. One time he picked me up and we went to the jail. But, instead of serving Mass, he put me into a cell and had the jailer lock the door! And there were neighborhood criminals in there, too! And one of them actually recognized me! For cripe's sake, I didn't know what to say, so I just sat there till Casey picked me up to go home. Gee I was upset. When he unlocked the door I asked him what the heck was wrong with him. He just said, "oh, I forgot you came along. I'll have to remember next time."
• When I was a server for him at Sacred Heart (now Bishop Casey) he had a big dinner for all the altar boys. So we all met outside the rectory and went in. For cripe's sake, the table was set with so many knives and forks and spoons! None of us knew how to eat the stuff he had the nuns serve, and we didn't know what tools we should use, either. So we all whispered to each other, "We'll wait for Bishop Casey." Well, he heard us, so he just sat there with his hands folded. We sat there in silence for twenty minutes, and by that time the food the nuns had cooked was cold and we'd lost our appetites. Gee, I felt so sorry for those nuns. I mean, they cooked so much food for us and we didn't eat anything . . . The nuns scared me. I mean, they were angry. And you don't want an angry nun, do you?

Conclave: End of Round 1

We now move on to the second round of the conclave. I have weeded out those who received two votes or less. Now, kindly start voting again in the new poll, posted to the right. If you voted in the first one or not, please vote in this one. While we aren't doing this 100% Vatican-style, I think we're doing it as closely as bloggingly possible.

The following is the list of the six front-runners:

Fr. Antinarelli
Fr. Bonsignore
Fr. Hart
Fr. Healy OCarm
Fr. Leone
Fr. McKenna

"Dominique" by the Singing Nun

This song was wildly popular in 1963. Her name in religion was Sister Luc Gabrielle. She entered the Dominican Convent in Fichermont, Belgium. The novelty was, I believe, that a nun was singing and with a guitar, no less. Her life ended very tragically. Pray for her.


Immediately below is the refrain:

Dominique, nique, nique
S'en allait tout simplement,
Routier pauvre et chantant
En tous chemins, en tous lieux
Il ne parle que du bon Dieu.

A l'époque où Jean Sans Terre
D'Angleterre était roi,
Dominique, notre Père,
Combattit les Albigeois.

(To Refrain)

Certain jour un hérétique
Par des ronces le conduit,
Mais notre Père Dominique
Par sa joie le convertit.

(To Refrain)

Ni chameau, ni diligence,
Il parcourt l'Europe à pied.
Scandinavie ou Provence
Dans la sainte pauvreté.

(To Refrain)

Enflamma de toute écoles
Filles et garçons pleins d'ardeur,
Et pour semer la Parole
Inventa les Frères Prêcheurs.

(To Refrain)

Chez Dominique et Ses Frères
Le pain s'en vint à manquer
Et deux anges se présentèrent,
Portant deux grands pains dorés.

(To Refrain)

Dominique vit en rêve
Les prêcheurs du monde entier,
Sous le manteau de la Vierge
En grand nombre rassemblés.

(To Refrain)

Dominique, mon bon Père,
Garde-nous simples et gais
Pour annoncer à nos frères
La Vie et La Vérité.

Final Call for Cleansing Fire Choir Volunteers

If you have not yet sent an email to me regarding volunteering for the choral festivities, and you have a reasonable amount of skill and/or experience, and you have a sense of humor, then this is your last chance to join up. Right now, we have about 6-10 people, and our songs are almost 100% finished.

My brother has graciously volunteered to assist us, and he is very experienced in recording/singing etc . . . So it won't take much work or time on your part. All that's involved is a few rehearsals and the final recording. I hope to have this done by Christmas, so please, if you've been debating this internally and still haven't reached a conclusion, send me an email. We want your vocal chords! We also won't say no to instrumental accompaniment.

For those of you who have volunteered, I will be sending out a final revised copy of what is to be sung. Once we get together for the first rehearsal, we'll hammer out the details.

SOLEMN HIGH MASS ON THE FEAST OF THE HOLY CROSS

Tomorrow, Monday at 8 a.m. EWTN will broadcast a Solemn High Mass on the Feast of the Exaltation of the Cross from the Shrine of the Most Blessed Sacrament, Hanceville, Alabama.

An altarboy's dream!

The swinging Botafumeiro dispensing clouds of incense. The dome above the crossing contains the pulley mechanism to swing the "Botafumeiro", which is a famous thurible found in this church. This thurible was created by the goldsmith José Losada in 1851. The Santiago de Compostela Botafumeiro is the largest censer in the world, weighing 80 kg (176 pounds) and measuring 1.60 m in height. It is normally on exhibition in the library of the cathedral, but during certain important religious high days it is attached to the pulley mechanism, filled with 40 kg (88 pounds) of charcoal and incense. In the Jubilee Years, whenever St James's Day falls on a Sunday, the Botafumeiro is also attached in all the Pilgrims' Masses. Eight red-robed tiraboleiros pull the ropes and bring it into a swinging motion almost to the roof of the transept, reaching speeds of 60 km/h and dispensing thick clouds of incense. One irreverent explanation of this custom, which originated more than 700 years ago--although incense has been used in Catholic ritual from the earliest times--is that it assisted in masking the stench emanating from hundreds of unwashed pilgrims.

History of a Conclave

These videos are in Italian with English subtitles. Very interesting.



Part II



Part III

What? A Conclave? And We're Invited?

Yes, it's true.

I know we've had the "next bishop quiz" before, but we've never had an actual election. Who will win? Who will lose? It's up to you, the Cardinals of Cleansing Fire. Just select the priest whom you honestly think should be the next bishop. Is he loyal to the faith? Is he able? Is he liturgically inclined? What are his views on lay preaching and lay administrators?

Please vote. If you haven't seen it, go to the top of the page and look to the right. I'm very interested to see who wins this thing. Then again, I'm not entirely certain anyone would want to "win" the episcopacy of Rochester.

Interior Pictures of St. Josephs

These are not the best pictures,but they will give you some idea of what the interior used to look like.

Need Baby Clothes

I am requesting baby girl & especially baby boy clothes for the Focus Pregnancy Help Center. I have a client coming in on Tuesday afternoon for baby boy clothes & we are a little short of boy clothes. I would be willing to pick up the clothes, if that works out better for the person donating, to the center. Please call Mary at 218-4051 or email her at marybailey@rochester.rr.com. with any questions.

Thank you,
Mary Jost

FW: Hilarity

I recently received this in my inbox:

The Pope and Nancy Pelosi are on the same stage in front of a huge crowd..

The Madame Speaker and The Pope, however, have seen it all before. To make it a little more interesting, Madame Speaker says to the Pope, "Did you know that with just one little wave of my hand I can make every Democrat in the crowd go wild?"

He doubts it, so she shows him. Sure enough, the wave elicits rapture and cheering from every Democrat in the crowd. Gradually, the cheering subsides.

The Pope, not wanting to be outdone by such a level of arrogance, considers what he could do...

"That was impressive, the Pope says, "But did you know that with .just one little wave of MY hand I can make many people in the crowd, and many around the world, go crazy with joy? This joy will not be a momentary display like that of your subjects, but will go deep into their hearts, and they will forever speak of this day and rejoice."

The speaker seriously doubts this, and says so. "One little wave of your hand and so many people will rejoice forever? Show me."

So the Pope slapped her.