Just some scattered thoughts this week: Thank you to those of you who “step up” and serve the parish in a variety of capacities. It is the million “little things” that all of you do that make the whole place run. I know that many of you served the parish in the past and are no longer able to do so. I thank you also for all that you have done. I hope that your dedication and generosity inspires a new generation of parishioners to be of service to the parish. We need you. Recently the parish received a notification that someone remembered us in their will. When doing your estate planning, could you include St. Patrick Parish? All of us benefit from the generosity and thoughtfulness of those who have remembered St. Patrick Parish in their estate planning. Please pay it forward for the generations that follow us. You may have noticed in the local news that there was a break-in at our church this past week. As I write this, it seems as though nothing is missing. The alarm went off, I came over and discovered a window open and some minor disturbance and called the police. The Stoneham Police arrived here before I even finished the call. The Stoneham Police (and also the State Police and Andover Police) were professional, thorough, and very respectful of our church. Although the situation was unfortunate, I was very grateful to witness the Stoneham Police’s dedication to us and their genuine concern for us. Next weekend is Thien’s last weekend with us. Thien, a seminarian from the Archdiocese of Hanoi, Vietnam has been with us for two months. It feels like he only arrived yesterday! Thien will continue studying at St. John’s Seminary in Boston for the next several years, so hopefully he will come and visit. (And I hope he will come back and make me some more Vietnamese food!) It really was a great blessing having Thien with us. He jumped right in, was a joyful presence, and served the parish well. Last week there was a wonderful young adult gathering on the lawn of the church. A couple of our new youth discipleship small groups are up and running. Small, intentional, discipleship groups are an excellent way of forming lifelong disciples of the Lord. This week I swung by our parish grief group that is led by our Pastoral Associate, Diane McCarthy. There were over twenty people in attendance. What a wonderful work! We are very blessed as a parish to have such generous parishioners and staff. Thank You.  Your Brother in Christ, Fr. David Barnes