As another school year begins next week, I’m reminded of a comparable “classroom situation” Jesus shared with His disciples when he took them up the mountain, and said, “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of God. Blessed are the meek, and those who mourn. Blessed are the merciful. Blessed are those who thirst for justice, for those who are persecuted and those who suffer. But, be glad and rejoice, for yours is the Kingdom of Heaven.”

Then Simon Peter said, “Are we supposed to know this?” And Andrew said, “Do we have to write this down?” And James said, “Will we have a test on this?” And Phillip said, “I don’t have any paper.” And Bartholomew said, “Do we have to turn this in?” And John said, “The other disciples didn’t have to learn this!” And Matthew said, “May I go to the bathroom?” and Judas said, “What does this have to do with real life?”

Then one of the Pharisees who was present asked to see Jesus’ lesson plan and inquired, “Where is your anticipatory set, and what are your objectives in the cognitive domain?” And Jesus wept.

It’s been said that life is like a classroom, we don’t “graduate” until we get to heaven. So meanwhile, remember that “Learning leads to understanding and understanding leads to doing.” One cannot love what one does not know. Or in the words of the 19 th c. Bishop Phillips Brooks, “Duty makes us do things well; love makes us do things beautifully.”

NOTICES:

Bunco: You’ve endured more than a year without it, but it’s coming back on August 7th – it’s BUNCO!! Please join us in the Parish Hall on August 7th, at 6PM. Bring a dish to share and your favorite beverage! If you’ve never played, if you’re a little rusty, if you’re confused – that’s ok – it’s all about bringing back fun, food and fellowship to St. David’s! $10.00 per person – prizes to be awarded! (Easy and fun game – tutorials provided – and feel free to wear a mask, if you like. 😉 ) Thank you, Erin

Sunday’s Worship – We are open for live worship on Sundays at 8 a.m. and 10 a.m. We also “live-stream” our 10 a.m. service.

Video Viewing Options for Sunday’s mass – there are three different ways to view our videos: 1) our church website; 2) our Facebook page; and 3) our YouTube channel.

Opportunities for Giving – there are several options that safely and efficiently expedite your generous donations: electronic bank transfers or automatic bank transfers via personal accounts or credit/debit cards; personal checks delivered by USPS; and our favorite through joining our giving family online through our website or at https://www.myEoffering.com with our secure vendor Church Envelope Budget Company, who provides you with yearly offering envelopes. Please do NOT leave any envelopes with checks/cash unattended at church mailboxes.

Sandwiches for St. George’s: Please bring your sandwiches to St. David’s west side parking lot each Thursday morning from 8:30 to 9:30 pm.

Hospitality Hour is scheduled after the 10:00 a.m. mass – Congregation.

Shop with Scrip: Gift card fundraising is the best way to raise money. Start giving back to St. David’s the moment you buy a gift card with the RaiseRight mobile app today! You can join the program by downloading the app on your phone or go to https://www.ShopWithScrip.com on your computer. The enrollment code to set up your free family account is BB6656B177722. For more information, please pick up a flyer in the narthex, or email Kimberly Joy Castellotti-Ward at choiceplusrealestate@gmail.com

Outreach School Supplies Project: This year Wynnebrook Elementary School is asking for the following supplies. Crayons, colored pencils, 2 pocket folders, glue sticks, composition books, sweaters for our students (the building gets really cold!). We will have a collection basket out for cash donations so we can purchase these items in bulk. But if you prefer to go shopping yourself that is fine as well. Please make your contribution, cash or items, by Sunday, August 8th. If you are not able to get to church yet, you can mail a check to me at 104 Locust Lane, Royal Palm Beach FL 33411. Please make check payable to St. David’s and enter Outreach on the Notes line. Thank you for your support. Joyce Parker

Altar Flowers and Candles: We have a bag on the credenza to collect all flower and candle donations for upcoming Sundays. If you would like to donate for altar flowers for memorials and celebrations, please put your check for $40 with a request showing the date you want altar flowers and the reason for your donation into the bag. If you want to donate candles, please put your check for $20 and request showing date and reason for donation. Do not put flower and candle requests in offering plates.

Sunday School: is still in operation with the necessary protocol in place.

Forward Day by Day brochures for the next quarter are now available in the narthex. Donation $3.00

Tuesdays: Holy Eucharist 8:30 a.m.
Wednesdays: Holy Eucharist and Rosary 6:30 p.m.

PLEASE PRAY – For the sick: Angel, Ampy, Barbara, Beth, Danny, Diana, Donna, Jacob, Jeanne, Joaquin, Kip, Max, Michael, Miguel, Mike, Susan, Walter. For birthday celebrations: Ola Walker, Roger Dwyer, Everald Thomas. For our expectant mother: Meghan.

Toward the end of his life, when he was suffering from the accumulated effects of a lifetime of drinking, W.C. Fields was discovered reading the Bible by one of his friends. The astonished friend asked: “What are you – an atheist – doing reading the Bible?” Fields replied, “I’m looking for loopholes.”

Well, the good news is that because of Christ’s sacrifice on the cross and His resurrection on Easter Sunday, we don’t need to look for “loopholes.” The “hole” in the grave where Jesus’ body was interred was proof enough of God’s awesome power to bring back to life that which was “dead.” Conversion is more than just a “one time” experience; rather it is a daily occurrence for those who know and accept the loving grace of God in their lives. Oscar Wilde observed that “Every saint has a past and every sinner has a future.” Or as St. Paul says to the Corinthians, “If our hope in Christ has been for this life only, we are of all people the most to be pitied.” But we don’t need to be pitied, because “Christ has died, Christ is risen, and Christ will come again.”

NOTICES:

Sunday’s Worship – We are open for live worship on Sundays at 8 a.m. and 10 a.m. We also “live-stream” our 10 a.m. service.

Video Viewing Options for Sunday’s mass – there are three different ways to view our videos: 1) our church website; 2) our Facebook page; and 3) our YouTube channel.

Opportunities for Giving – there are several options that safely and efficiently expedite your generous donations: electronic bank transfers or automatic bank transfers via personal accounts or credit/debit cards; personal checks delivered by USPS; and our favorite through joining our giving family online through our website or at https://www.myEoffering.com with our secure vendor Church Envelope Budget Company, who provides you with yearly offering envelopes. Please do NOT leave any envelopes with checks/cash unattended at church mailboxes.

Sandwiches for St. George’s: Please bring your sandwiches to St. David’s west side parking lot each Thursday morning from 8:30 to 9:30 pm.

Hospitality Hour is scheduled after the 10:00 a.m. mass – ECW.

Shop with Scrip: Gift card fundraising is the best way to raise money. Start giving back to St. David’s the moment you buy a gift card with the RaiseRight mobile app today! You can join the program by downloading the app on your phone or go to https://www.ShopWithScrip.com on your computer. The enrollment code to set up your free family account is BB6656B177722. For more information, please pick up a flyer in the narthex, or email Kimberly Joy Castellotti-Ward at choiceplusrealestate@gmail.com

Outreach School Supplies Project: This year Wynnebrook Elementary School is asking for the following supplies. Crayons, colored pencils, 2 pocket folders, glue sticks, composition books, sweaters for our students (the building gets really cold!). We will have a collection basket out for cash donations so we can purchase these items in bulk. But if you prefer to go shopping yourself that is fine as well. Please make your contribution, cash or items, by Sunday, August 8th. If you are not able to get to church yet, you can mail a check to me at 104 Locust Lane, Royal Palm Beach FL 33411. Please make check payable to St. David’s and enter Outreach on the Notes line. Thank you for your support. Joyce Parker

Altar Flowers and Candles: We have a bag on the credenza to collect all flower and candle donations for upcoming Sundays. If you would like to donate for altar flowers for memorials and celebrations, please put your check for $40 with a request showing the date you want altar flowers and the reason for your donation into the bag. If you want to donate candles, please put your check for $20 and request showing date and reason for donation. Do not put flower and candle requests in offering plates.

Vases for Flowers: The flower delivery ministry is in need of vases to be used weekly to put flowers in to be delivered to people. If anyone has any medium to large size vases, please bring in and place in Ladies Room of the church. Thanks. Linda

Sunday School: is still in operation with the necessary protocol in place.

Forward Day by Day brochures for the next quarter are now available in the narthex. Donation $3.00

Tuesdays: Holy Eucharist 8:30 a.m.
Wednesdays: Holy Eucharist and Rosary 6:30 p.m.

PLEASE PRAY – For the sick: Angel, Ampy, Beth, Danny, Diana, Donna, Jeanne, Joaquin, Kenzie, Lester, Max, Michael, Miguel, Mike, Roberto, Titi, Walter. For the departed: Phil MacNak. For birthday celebrations: Jackson Eubanks, Theda Aiken, Joseph Piconcelli, Jr., Annemarie Elmquist, Nellie Falco, Wesley Hawk, Rebecca Anzures. For anniversary celebrations: John and Donna Stipek, Assad and Millicent Thompson.  For our expectant mother: Meghan.

A Wall Street Journal article six years ago reported a story of a defunct Roman Catholic Church in Scituate, Massachusetts (St. Frances Xavier Cabrini) where some faithful remnant of parishioners had been staging a twenty-four hour vigil in the empty church building since it was closed by the Archdiocese in 2004. That’s a long time to grieve over a congregation that had once been a thriving parish. However, a local judge had ordered that the nearly one hundred people staging the vigil had to vacate and cease from their round-the-clock watch. Legally, they were trespassing in the eyes of the court, even though they had filed an appeal. Diocesan officials had claimed that they had no choice but to shut down the congregation, given the lack of financial support and lack of priests. Overall, the number of practicing Roman Catholics has actually increased in recent decades, while the number of priests has declined, resulting in mergers of congregations or closures.

Let me be clear: St. David’s is in no danger of closing down. But, on the other hand, what if our church ceased to exist? How many people would be affected by our absence? Prior to the Pandemic, our parish was making a sizeable difference in our community in many and diverse ways, but it takes the sacrificial and steady support of all of us to see that the Good News of the Kingdom is seen, heard, and felt by all who rely on us as an agent of God’s grace and love. So, thanks for your continued support throughout the summer and for years to come.

NOTICES:

Sunday’s Worship – We are open for live worship on Sundays at 8 a.m. and 10 a.m. We also “live-stream” our 10 a.m. service.

Video Viewing Options for Sunday’s mass – there are three different ways to view our videos: 1) our church website; 2) our Facebook page; and 3) our YouTube channel.

Opportunities for Giving – there are several options that safely and efficiently expedite your generous donations: electronic bank transfers or automatic bank transfers via personal accounts or credit/debit cards; personal checks delivered by USPS; and our favorite through joining our giving family online through our website or at https://www.myEoffering.com with our secure vendor Church Envelope Budget Company, who provides you with yearly offering envelopes. Please do NOT leave any envelopes with checks/cash unattended at church mailboxes.

Sandwiches for St. George’s: Please bring your sandwiches to St. David’s west side parking lot each Thursday morning from 8:30 to 9:30 pm.

Shop with Scrip: Gift card fundraising is the best way to raise money. Start giving back to St. David’s the moment you buy a gift card with the RaiseRight mobile app today! You can join the program by downloading the app on your phone or go to https://www.ShopWithScrip.com on your computer. The enrollment code to set up your free family account is BB6656B177722. For more information, please pick up a flyer in the narthex, or email Kimberly Joy Castellotti-Ward at choiceplusrealestate@gmail.com

Altar Flowers and Candles: We have a bag on the credenza to collect all flower and candle donations for upcoming Sundays. If you would like to donate for altar flowers for memorials and celebrations, please put your check for $40 with a request showing the date you want altar flowers and the reason for your donation into the bag. If you want to donate candles, please put your check for $20 and request showing date and reason for donation. Do not put flower and candle requests in offering plates.

Sunday School: is still in operation with the necessary protocol in place.

Forward Day by Day brochures for the next quarter are now available in the narthex. Donation $3.00

Tuesdays: Holy Eucharist 8:30 am.
Wednesdays: Holy Eucharist and Rosary 6:30 p.m.

PLEASE PRAY – For the sick: Angel, Ampy, Bertram, Beth, Danny, Diana, Donna, Doug, Jeanne, Joaquin, Kip, Max, Miguel, Mike, Roberto, Walter. For birthday celebrations: Kenneth Barnett, Lauren Melton, Joyce Parker, Lucas Joseph, Marc Duquesnay, Danielle Kiminyo, Estelle Beresford. For anniversary celebration: Javier and Debra Gonzalez. For our expectant mother: Meghan.

A security guard at the Louvre Museum in Paris was once asked, “If the museum was on fire and you had the chance to grab only one painting to take out with you, which one would you choose?” The guard replied, “The one closest to the exit.” As they say, “Beauty is in the eye of the beholder!” Natural disasters, illnesses, financial upheavals, amongst other events, bring our priorities into perspective. Hopefully, it won’t take a catastrophic event or disaster to help us focus on the important things and especially the people in our lives.

Sadly, some folks have everything to live with, but little to live for! So, in the words of the 16 th c. Spanish monk, St. John of the Cross, “Remember, it’s not what they take from you that counts; it’s what you do with what you have left.”

NOTICES:

Sunday’s Worship – We are open for live worship on Sundays at 8 a.m. and 10 a.m. We also “live-stream” our 10 a.m. service.

Video Viewing Options for Sunday’s mass – there are three different ways to view our videos: 1) our church website; 2) our Facebook page; and 3) our YouTube channel.

Opportunities for Giving – there are several options that safely and efficiently expedite your generous donations: electronic bank transfers or automatic bank transfers via personal accounts or credit/debit cards; personal checks delivered by USPS; and our favorite through joining our giving family online through our website or at https://www.myEoffering.com with our secure vendor Church Envelope Budget Company, who provides you with yearly offering envelopes. Please do NOT leave any envelopes with checks/cash unattended at church mailboxes.

Sandwiches for St. George’s: Please bring your sandwiches to St. David’s west side parking lot each Thursday morning from 8:30 to 9:30 pm.

Lay Weeders: We will be doing some lawn work on Saturday, June 12 starting at 8:30 a.m. If you are able to help, please bring rakes and cutting tools. Thanks, Linda.

Shop with Scrip: Gift card fundraising is the best way to raise money. Start giving back to St. David’s the moment you buy a gift card with the RaiseRight mobile app today! You can join the program by downloading the app on your phone or go to https://www.ShopWithScrip.com on your computer. The enrollment code to set up your free family account is BB6656B177722. For more information, please pick up a flyer in the narthex, or email Kimberly Joy Castellotti-Ward at choiceplusrealestate@gmail.com

Altar Flowers and Candles: We have a bag on the credenza to collect all flower and candle donations for upcoming Sundays. If you would like to donate for altar flowers for memorials and celebrations, please put your check for $40 with a request showing the date you want altar flowers and the reason for your donation into the bag. If you want to donate candles, please put your check for $20 and request showing date and reason for donation. Do not put flower and candle requests in offering plates.

Sunday School: is still in operation with the necessary protocol in place.

Forward Day by Day brochures for the next quarter are now available in the narthex. Donation $3.00

Tuesdays: Holy Eucharist 8:30 am.
Wednesdays: Holy Eucharist and Rosary 6:30 p.m.

PLEASE PRAY – For the sick: Angel, Ampy, Beth, Danny, Dexter, Diana, Donna, Jeanne, Joaquin, Kip, Max, Miguel, Mike, Walter. For birthday celebrations: Dan Grubb, Zane Hawk, Kitonga Kiminyo, Joyce Richardson, Leona Rozzi, Jacquie Murray, Cristina Anzures. For anniversary celebration: Douglas and Joy Noe, Carol and Danny Sneade, Michel and Terese Guillaume. For our expectant mother: Meghan.

A visiting bishop went to an unfamiliar church to celebrate the Eucharist. There was a microphone on the altar, and being uncertain whether it was switched on, he tapped it gently with no result. So leaning very close to it, he said in a loud whisper which echoed around the church: “We need a technical engineer; there’s something wrong with this microphone.” To which the well-trained congregation replied, “And also with you.”

I think that many people would agree that during the past year and a half, we have all learned some new technical skills! The wonderful technology that we have all been taking advantage of this past year is great, but many have told me that it does not replace the in-person worship, where they can see, feel, hear and taste the real thing.

What might be different in our worship, or remain the same, once we are on the other side of the pandemic, who knows? We do know that Technology can be a useful servant or a tyrannical master – depending on how it is used. So, for the time being and until it is safer for high-risk folks to resume regular attendance at public functions, I would like to give a big thanks to all the volunteers who provide the technical support for many to continue to worship, albeit from home.

NOTICES:

Sunday’s Worship – We are open for live worship on Sundays at 8 a.m. and 10 a.m. We also “live-stream” our 10 a.m. service.

Video Viewing Options for Sunday’s mass – there are three different ways to view our videos: 1) our church website; 2) our Facebook page; and 3) our YouTube channel.

Opportunities for Giving – there are several options that safely and efficiently expedite your generous donations: electronic bank transfers or automatic bank transfers via personal accounts or credit/debit cards; personal checks delivered by USPS; and our favorite through joining our giving family online through our website or at https://www.myEoffering.com with our secure vendor Church Envelope Budget Company, who provides you with yearly offering envelopes. Please do NOT leave any envelopes with checks/cash unattended at church mailboxes.

Sandwiches for St. George’s: Please bring your sandwiches to St. David’s west side parking lot each Thursday morning from 8:30 to 9:30 pm.

Lay Weeders: We will be doing some lawn work on Saturday, June 12 starting at 8:30 a.m. If you are able to help, please bring rakes and cutting tools. Thanks, Linda.

Shop with Scrip: Gift card fundraising is the best way to raise money. Start giving back to St. David’s the moment you buy a gift card with the RaiseRight mobile app today! You can join the program by downloading the app on your phone or go to https://www.ShopWithScrip.com on your computer. The enrollment code to set up your free family account is BB6656B177722. For more information, please pick up a flyer in the narthex, or email Kimberly Joy Castellotti-Ward at choiceplusrealestate@gmail.com

Altar Flowers and Candles: We have a bag on the credenza to collect all flower and candle donations for upcoming Sundays. If you would like to donate for altar flowers for memorials and celebrations, please put your check for $40 with a request showing the date you want altar flowers and the reason for your donation into the bag. If you want to donate candles, please put your check for $20 and request showing date and reason for donation. Do not put flower and candle requests in offering plates.

Sunday School: is still in operation with the necessary protocol in place.

Forward Day by Day brochures for the next quarter are now available in the narthex. Donation $3.00

Tuesdays: Holy Eucharist 8:30 am.
Wednesdays: Holy Eucharist and Rosary 6:30 p.m.

PLEASE PRAY – For the sick: Angel, Ampy, Beth, Danny, Donna, Joaquin, Kip, Max, Miguel, Mike. For birthday celebrations: Shelley Baranowski, Jean Marshall, Carmen Johnson, Douglas Noe, Sharon Young. For anniversary celebration: William and Shelley Blodgett. For our expectant mother: Meghan.