10/20/23 - Friday Forget-Me-Nots by Jim Silcott

Photo Caption: Student Choir at Friday Mass

Dear Our Lady of Peace Family,

The Our Lady of Peace Fall Festival was a huge success in every way. Although I have not heard the final figures, I know that tens of thousands of dollars were raised for the parish and school. Sponsorships, the silent auction, the bake sale, bingo, food and beer sales, kids’ games, games of chance, and a wonderland of bounce house in DeSantis Field all helped to separate people from their dollars, but all for a great cause. It should be noted that, in addition to so many parents and parishioners donating goods and services for the sales and auctions, staff members of the parish and school all donated toward the cause. In fact, so many students are going to be teachers, secretaries and principal for the day that all of us who work here might just take the day off and let the children take over. It will probably go much smoother!

The weather was so good, no, so perfect, on Friday night that anything less on Saturday would have been a letdown. One of the reasons the committee chose this time of year over the summer is because of the volatility of summer weather these days with the heat and blow out storms. I can remember a few summer festivals where the heat was oppressive, and the rain came down so hard that we could sell boat rides through the parking lot. On Friday it was sunny when the festival began but the heat bathed us rather than broiled us. When the sun went down there was enough cloud cover to keep it warm for the evening. If there was an app on our phones that could dictate ideal weather for a festival, Friday night’s climate would have been exactly what we would have ordered.

So, when the rains came late Friday night and into Saturday morning, it was a letdown, but I know the committee was hopeful that by 6 the precipitation, at least, would be gone. Meteorologists though, have the batting average of the ninth man in the order on the Oakland Athletic baseball team, and the rain continued into the evening. Luckily, it was more mist than deluge. It kept the crowd down but not out. And a good time was had by all.

The silent auction was weather resistant as folks could and did bid online from the comfort of their living rooms. This kept the competition for desired items going until the very end on Saturday.

The spices of the chili kick-off were diluted slightly by the weather, but the savory flavors remained, and the voting was fast and furious. After School guru, Kyle Davis was once again robbed of a first-place victory at the culinary mastery of Whitney Chafin. Kyle has promised to keep tinkering!

What I was most struck by in the weeks leading up to the festival and during the weekend was the creativity, flexibility, patience and camaraderie of the committee and the hundreds of volunteers from the school and parish community. It is one more sign of the life and vitality of our community. We are a parish on the climb not the decline! It seems that everyone who could, contributed what they could, from muscle to time to baked goods to smiles. Visitors to the festival report the same feeling that visitors to our school and church feel. Our Lady of Peace is a warm, inviting community full of life, laughter, and love.

Festival chairs, Jerry Bennett and Brandon Miller were exemplary leaders. Always positive, always encouraging to everyone. They were joined by Amanda Barcus, Dan Bartosic, Jon Belding, Jen Bennett, Bob Brehm, Jenny Bryant, Cena Creaturo, Shane Gregg, Colleen Leary, Jodi Marmion, Brandon Page, Renee Page, Katy Paolini, Anthony Rosselli and Chrissy Thomas. A special thanks as well to our middle school students who were always available to move things up and down and over and in and out whenever they were needed. They made quick work of tedious tasks.

Our next big event is our annual pizza sale. We are calling on parents once again not only to help their students sell pizzas and take some time on Thursday evening or Friday, November 2 & 3 to set up the café and assemble the best pies in town. You can sign up for a shift online below.

In a world that doesn’t work on so many levels, the Our Lady of Peace community does. If anyone wants to know the reason why, reread the previous paragraphs. And then throw in the fact that we do it all in Jesus’ name and the recipe for success is clear.

Jim Silcott