Here are the buy/view links from:
Bob Reers and Joe Gartner.
Here are additional view/download photos.
This is a great link to the Catholic New York magazine with a nice article on the Parish / Cardinal's Mass.
Bob Reers took some beautiful photographs at the special 50th Anniversary Concert, Friday, November 4th. To view/buy the photos you must visit Bob's link at: ZenFolio.
Joe Gartner took some great photos of the October 21st Gala... While you can view them by clicking on the link to the right -> You are also able to view and purchase actual photos from Joe's Photography Website: JG Photography.
August 1, 2016
Dear Parishioner,
As I write this letter, it is hard to believe that Father John and I are completing our first full year of priestly ministry here at Saint Aedan parish. I hope you will agree that it has been a busy as well as productive year and that you are pleased with the way things have been going. Please continue to work with us, in adding to the vibrancy of our parish life, by offering your own personal time and talent for the good of our parish community. As Christians we believe that, "it is in giving that we receive." We are also mindful of the words of Saint Paul, "There are different gifts but the same Spirit." If everyone tries their best to be as committed and involved as they can, our parish will continue to thrive and remain healthy throughout the years to come.
I would like to take a moment to express my deepest gratitude to Deacon Jim Maher for the active and diversified ministry he continues to perform here in our parish. He helped play an important role in our yearlong transition process. Many thanks, also, to those of you who exercise positions of leadership with so many of our parish ministries, societies and organizations. You are doing a great job. It goes without saying that a strong and vibrant parish community relies very heavily on the ongoing commitment of so many who give so generously of their time and love to our Parish Religious Education Program; our Ministry of the Eucharist at mass and to the homebound, nursing home and hospital; Lectors, Ushers, Altar Servers (adult and young); Choir & Music; CYO/Youth; Hospitality; Pancake Breakfast & Lenten Pasta Dinner; Ladies Guild/Sacristy; Legion of Mary; Patriotic Rosary; Nocturnal Adoration and our special parish activities which take place throughout the year.
Reflecting back on my opening words about giving, I would like to, once again, thank those of you who have been so conscientious in honoring your ongoing commitment to the parish Increased Giving Campaign we conducted last fall. It was also great to see an increase in the number of you who signed up for ParishPay. I realize that maintaining your increased commitment requires a financial sacrifice on your part as well as perseverance and love. It has really helped our parish to stabilize its overall financial picture. We could not have moved forward with some of the things we've accomplished without the financial security of our increased giving income.
From the outset, one of our priorities was to try and maintain an open and effective channel of communication with all of you, our parishioners. We began this effort, last August, by sending out a parish-wide mailing and calendar soon after our arrival. We also doubled our efforts with the information contained in our weekly Parish Bulletin. We next worked on developing the parish website (a work still in progress) and distributed additional parish calendars throughout the year. In addition, the parish Flocknotes webmail has enabled me, as your local shepherd, to reach out to you, my flock and inform you of important, timely, matters which we wanted you to know without having you wait for the next Sunday bulletin. If you have not yet signed up for Flocknotes, please go on line or else contact us with your preferred email address and you will begin to receive these more personal, pastor-parishioner communications from time to time.
Enclosed, in the current mailing, you will find our latest, most ambitious and, hopefully, most informative communication yet, an annual parish calendar. Please save this calendar in a special place. By sending you this comprehensive calendar, covering September 2016 through June 2017, we hope that you will be able to include our special dates into your long range planning and thus be able to join us for as many of our parish activities and events as possible throughout the upcoming year. [see right to download] Any changes which may become necessary will be announced on our website and in our weekly bulletins.
With this mailing, I have also enclosed some important information regarding our Parish 50th Anniversary celebration. We opened the anniversary year with a full church by celebrating mass with our Episcopal Vicar, Bishop Dominick Lagonegro. In May, our parish picnic brought together a nice blend of seniors and young families with their children. At this time, we are finalizing plans for a "full court press" in the fall with some special activities which will help us to continue the celebration of our parish Golden Jubilee and, hopefully, bring even more of us together as a parish family. I urgently invite all of you to lend your enthusiastic support by getting involved with our upcoming events which include the spectacular (free) Anniversary Concert and, of course, our Gala Dinner Dance at the Pearl RIver Hilton - the social highlight of the year. In addition, we hope you will give your active support to the success of our 50th Anniversary Journal and exciting 50-50 raffle.
In closing, I would like to take a moment to offer my sincerest appreciation for the outpouring of enthusiasm, love and support which both Father John and I have enjoyed ever since our arrival last August. From the very beginning, you have made us feel welcome, appreciated and very much at home here in this beautiful parish community of ours. I hope and I pray that you have felt that same sense of appreciation, love and support from us. We are both so very happy to be your parish priests and we feel truly blessed to have been assigned here to Saint Aedan's. As we continue the observance of our 50th Anniversary Year, may we all remember the prayer which the Lord God Himself instructed Moses to pass on to his sons and to his descendents:
"The Lord bless you and keep you! The Lord let his face shine upon you, and be gracious to you! The Lord look upon you kindly and give you peace." (Numbers 6:24-26)
Prayerfully in Christ,
Rev. Msgr. Emmet R. Nevin
Pastor