First of all, a big thank-you goes out to the many volunteers who helped our parish host the South Oakland Shelter last week. This effort creates the largest number of volunteer hours of anything we do as a parish. It is an around-the-clock witness of Christian love. I want to thank especially Tim and Nancy Cahoon for their personal commitment to SOS. You've helped us all become better servants of the disadvantaged.
I will be in Rome this coming week, attending a meeting of Franciscans involved in pastoral education. I will be back in time for the weekend masses, which will kick off a special week of prayer for vocations to the priesthood and consecrated life. Since 1972 the church has set aside a full week of the year as National Vocation Awareness Week. Previously it was on the Solemnity of the Baptism of the Lord (the end of the Christmas season.) It was moved this year to the first week of November.
With elections coming up soon, I encourage you to visit the Michigan Catholic Conference website for information on the candidates' positions on important moral issues. Follow this link: http://www.micatholic.org/advocacy/2014-election/