We will have a second collection this weekend to help the victims of earthquakes in Venezuela. The funds will be sent to Catholic Relief Service and distributed through the Catholic to parishes and organizations in that country. If you are not prepared for the collection, you can make a donation next weekend. Write a check with “Venezuela” in the memo line or put money into a separate envelope.
I will be gone this week with the Damascus Ministries youth summer camp in Michigan. With a camp full of middle-schoolers, I will be offering Mass and confessions and Adoration time. (I have also heard that the camp has a zip-line. It should be a good week.) I will return Friday evening.
I offer a word about our church air-conditioning. We hear many complaints during the summer that the church is too cold. We also hear complaints that it is too hot. Part of the issue, of course, is that some people are comfortable in a 68-degree room and some are comfortable in a 74-degree room. The other issue is the fluctuation in the temperature in our church. We have a large space with high ceilings. When there is a small crowd in the church, the space easily becomes cold. When there is a large crowd, with more people and doors open for the people coming and going, it becomes stuffy and warm. The fans turn on and off automatically, blowing cold air and making things better or worse, depending on your perspective. Fluctuation of five or six degrees isn’t an issue in the winter because most of us are sitting in church with coats on. During the summer, that fluctuation is much more noticed. Summer or winter, you won’t find me in church without a sweater. And, having been stationed in parishes without air conditioning, I am very happy sitting comfortably in my sweater.
