VIEW FROM THE RECTORY

Dear Friends of Holy Spirit:

The dedication of our new church has been rescheduled for Saturday, December 11 at 10:00 AM. We are very excited in the Northern end of Hamilton County. After five years of fund-raising, building, and prayers we see the dream of a Catholic Church in Soddy-Daisy. As the mountain stone is erected outside, it reflects the natural beauty of the site. The view from the church is incredible. It always lifts my spirits to be on the hill. Inside, our church will be just as beautiful. Almost a dozen artisans, most of them parishioners, have crafted our liturgical art. We also have parishioners crafting banners, altar cloths, and stoles. As the day of dedication nears, groups are being formed to handle every aspect of the big day. Many of you will have an opportunity to help with parking, seating, cooking, cleaning, mailing invitations, and moving. We will need many laborers to work for several weeks to finish up our part of the building. There will be plenty for everyone to do. Our last Mass at the First Presbyterian Church will be Wednesday at 9:00 AM, the Feast of the Immaculate Conception. It will be a sad farewell to our dear friends at FPC. Their Christian Charity has been overwhelming. They will be in our prayers. In Christ, Fr. Mike

TRANSITIONS

Holy Spirit Church is again fortunate to have 7 of 7 graduating seniors continuing their education. In no particular order, Lindsey Wendorf is going to Chattanooga State and is leaning towards teaching Spanish. Ryan O’Malley is going to UTC and working, Alison Leahy plans to use her scholarship to Chattanooga State to become a Kindergarten teacher, Megan Amrhein will attend MTSU majoring in elementary education with a minor in Spanish, Paul Barbree will attend LSU (go figure) with a double major in geology and Petroleum Engineering, Eric Tiner is at UTC working on Chemistry as a start to a pre-med curriculum, and Thomas Cupo is at the University of Delaware studying Business Administration.

BUILDING PROGRESS

Building Committee honcho Jim McGirl has moved from high stress to high confidence that our building will ready as advertised. The freak weather event that reversed some construction has been overcome because there was no structural damage. The water pressure issue has been solved by throwing money at more pumps, and the double fire hydrant you see down by the road allows the firefighters to hook a pumper up to one, and give enough pressure to bring water up the hill. We can all rest easy, Jim assures us the church will not be that hideous yellow color, that is only insulation to be covered with paint and other technical stuff. Hats off to all the effort of the Building Committee.

DEACON MICHAEL

That green stole that Deacon Michael Kucharzak wears is a symbol of his ordination as a Deacon in 1980, almost 24 years ago. When asked what keeps it up on his shoulder, he replied "faith," an apt response for someone who spent 3 rather intense and arduous years in training. It all started long ago and far away in Milwaukee, Wisconsin when Andrea was the girl across the street, and Michael didn't give up until she married him back in 1962. They have brought 3 girls and one boy into this world, all now grown and not living at home, but they do have 2 grandchildren to spoil. Andrea is a retired office manager for a podiatrist's office; not to be outdone, about 3 years ago Michael retired as the Executive Director of the Chattanooga Housing Authority. He now applies those skills as a consultant for government-assisted housing wherever he is needed. Michael served as deacon in Iowa City, Iowa; Puyallup, Washington; and, most recently, a 6-year assignment to St. Bridget's in Dayton, always honing and perfecting the Deacon Ministry. After contacting the Bishop, and getting the blessings from both priests involved, Michael, nearing retirement from his retirement job, is preparing to deliver more time to his hometown church. Both of them have been awed and humbled by the level of their acceptance at HSCC, and are impressed with the sense of church community in place. He is not referring to his housing specialty, but the sense of family created while building our house of worship. Michael views his task as helping Fr. Mike and all our parishioners, then expanding his ministry to assisting with housing as our Diocese grows. Welcome to our family Andrea and Michael; may our association be long and fruitful.

FEATURED FAMILY

The HSCC parish owes a debt of gratitude to the educational pursuits of 2 of John and Laura Keys’ 3 sons. Both graduated from UTC , creating an interest to move here and the rest is history. John is retired from the Air Force Reserve, and more recently retired as a Specialist/Negotiator for Headquarters Air Force Systems Command in Maryland. Laura was able to manage only one retirement, that from managing a middle school cafeteria. John and Laura offer more than 10 years experience working in different capacities primarily with young people. John has been a coach for a boy’s club in Maryland and a CCD teacher, while Laura has been a Sacristan and active in CCW. John has also been a Youth Minister before we stole him away from St. Bridget. They attended our first-ever Mass, but had commitments in Dayton, and stayed there until completed. John and Laura look forward to the bright and shiny future of our new home, our young people, and the sense of family created at HSCC.

FINANCIAL NEWS

Joe Fowler reports good news and gooder news. Our 3-year pledge drive is nearly over and we will end up within spitting distance of our original goal! This fantastic news proves we all have pretty much kept our word and our dedication to the task at hand. The gooder news is that intense study indicates it costs about $150k per year to finance our operation, and even if the cash flow remains at the present level, we will be able to make expenses. The great information from these two operational budgets has taken Joe and the Finance Committee from up tight to upbeat (not really, legal tender professionals are always tense). We can retire our monthly $6,100 note early if we continue our generous giving.

ASK MR. CHURCH PERSON

Dear Mr. Church Person:

Information crossed my desk this spring that you abandoned your big fancy candle in favor of an even bigger and fancier version. As founder and perpetrator of the National Candle Awareness Association (NCAA), I am most concerned about the welfare of the old candle. By the way, for my archives, hod do y’all use that candle anyway?

Sincerely, Wick Waxman, President, NCAA

Dear Founder and Perpetrator Wick:

Yes indeed, we did acquire a new Easter Candle. It is adorned in color and majesty as well it should be. The Easter (also called Vigil) Candle is prominent during the Easter Vigil, at Baptisms, and Funerals. It represents the Light of Christ and has a close association with the waters of Baptism. In our new church, the Easter Candle may be placed near the Baptismal pool. The old candle is retired in its own stand in the Sacristy. It is our original candle from our Parish beginning. Mr. Church Person.

STEWARDSHIP

Time flies when you’re having fun, huh? Hard to believe we are nearly at the end of our 3-year Treasure of Faith Campaign. It seems that almost everyone pitched in as a family in many important ways to help reach our goal. We are confident that our financial report to the Dioceses proves we can uphold our financial commitments. We also need to be very grateful to those offering generous gifts from outside our Parish. Helen Johnson and the rest of the Stewardship Committee are concerned the rest of us may suffer from withdrawal pains come the end of September when this campaign is over. Fear not, dear reader, another Stewardship Appeal plan is in the works for our strong and determined church family. Details will be released around the middle of October prioritizing plans and income needs for the future. The important thing now is, though, for all of us to keep our pledges current, and not take advantage of that 2-week window between the end of one campaign and the start of another.

BY THE NUMBERS

45 minutes for an expert to make an igloo

8 counties in the state of Connecticut

40 percent of the globe’s total biomass is insects

28 daily newspapers in 1890 Chicago

36 different factors determine the ocean’s tide

15 French Kings named “Louis”

53 State Parks in Tennessee

76 commercial airports in Tennessee

PARISHIONER’S PRAYER

From Leo Klaes

Heavenly Father, we praise You.

You are the sovereign Lord of all.

Send us Your Holy Spirit.

Open our hearts to Your love, our minds to Your will, and our eyes to Your presence.

Give us the knowledge and strength to do Your will:

To generously share our time, talent and treasure in service to Your will for Holy Spirit Parish.

Grant: that we place our hope in Your vision of faithfulness;

that we build, placing our trust in You;

that we grow, bearing witness to You;

that we perform our deeds, with a sense of humility and self sacrifice;

And, that as our community grows,

we will be united through You for the establishment of Your Kingdom on Earth.

All these things we ask in the Holy Name of Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen

· 1st stolen car was a Peugeot, in France, in 1896.

· 1^st ship through the Panama Canal was the SS Ancon August 15, 1914 – 90 years ago.

· Brain cells come and go, but fat cells live forever.

· The Hawaiian alphabet has only 12 letters

A BURST OF VERSE

by Jerry Young

PERFECT

Today I wrote the perfect poem

Every word was smooth and fine

They came to me in perfect rhythm

And then formed each perfect line

I had no doubt it would be published

In Holy Spirit’s great newsletter

Because, of all my “Bursts of Verse”

No poem was ever better

Yes, each word was perfect and fell in place

But this introduction used up all my space

ART AND ENVIRONMENT

Decisions, decisions, decisions. That is what the 20+ members of this committee have been facing for some time now. They have finalized 8 major projects so far, with the sign and Mary Statue, among others, still facing resolution. Tim Malo has a partial design for the Baptismal Font, and would like input from anyone interested. So, come on down and get involved. The committee needs all the creative input they can get.

THE LAST RETORT

As the summer days become shorter and shorter, it gives me pause to think philosophically. This naturally creates a desire to punish others with those random thoughts, so here goes.

7 Things everyone should know by now:

1. No matter what happens, it should be someone else’s fault. You didn’t get the book back to the library on time. It is their fault for making the return date so soon.

2. Diets don’t work. Regular exercise burning more calories than obtained from a balanced diet works. Why can’t I make it work? It’s gotta be someone else’s fault.

3. Buying more stuff will not make me happier. Makes my creditors happier though.

4. Get-rich-quick schemes only work for the inventor of the get-rich-quick scheme.

5. Holidays were invented by Hallmark, Toys Is Us, and Wal-Mart. ‘Nough said.

6. Other people only hear what they want to hear. Atkins dieters eat bacon for every meal and feel good about it.

7. No one listens to anyone else. Which means you won’t pay attention to this either. Good thing we have faith that our Savior listens, huh?