Nearing the finish
Father St-Godard eyes plans for post-retirement
In a few weeks my title will be Pastor Emeritus of The Church of the Holy Family. That’s a long title and it congers up a lot of things.
This past year I have been doing many things for the last time. Last July I presided over my last annual meeting of our parish corporation. An annual meeting is a time when a pastor gets together with his trustees and parish auditors to meet with our accountant for a financial report of a whole year. That is when we find out if we are in the red or black and if our budget has gone up or down. I won’t miss that meeting.
Something I will miss is our Annual Interfaith Service, which always drew a large crowd. Honestly it was a lot of work getting all these religious bodies together to praise the Lord, but it was certainly worthwhile to get hundreds of people of different denominations sharing what they had in common.
The next great event was the Advent/Christmas season. That is always my favorite time of the year when we prepare for the coming of Christ and celebrate that great event for a couple of weeks. The decorations in our church were much more simple this year due my health issues.
Another happening here at Holy Family is our annual Lenten mission. I’ve always enjoyed having different members of the community including Bishop Gelineau, various Priests, Religious Brothers and Sisters and ecumenical leaders preach at these evening prayer services. That was the last time for me.
Holy Week was another last for me. It was very enjoyable except that I didn’t feel that I had the stamina to celebrate the Easter Vigil which is very long and complicated and so a visiting priest supplied for me.
I do not know how many funerals will take place while I’m still pastor but I do know I will not have any more weddings here at Holy Family.
There are two things I would like to continue doing even though I will not be here. One of them is my weekend programs with Roger Laliberte on the French programs entitled “L’Evangile du jour” or as the “the Gospel of English say the day.”
Roger has offered to come to my home in Pawtucket to record them. The other, of course, is continuing to write my columns The Woonsocket Call for and The Pawtucket Times.
I might have to take some time off in getting organized, but I do want to continue because I have found this fulfilling and I have heard a few of you like it.
As for continuing priestly ministry, that will depend on being able to get a ride as I’m not driving any more but I’m sure that I’ll have many opportunities because my home is near the Little Sisters of the Poor in Pawtucket and many of the Pawtucket parishes are nearby.
It is very interesting that I am retiring exactly 25 years to the day after I was installed as pastor of Holy Family parish. Please keep me in your prayers as I will keep you in mine.
Rev. Edward St-Godard is a local priest. He contributes a weekly religion column to The Call and The Times.