Comedy and Cuisine

Dear Friends of Saint Cecilia,

We gather once again to celebrate the wonderful gift of Saint Cecilia Elementary School. So many people before us have used their time, energy, talents and Catholic Faith to lay the foundation or to cultivate the spirit and the environment which would form the young people through the experiences of our school. Families and generations within families have been positively influenced through this school and parish experience. Individual teachers and faculties have blessed the lives of students through the process of instruction, encouragement, challenge and discipline at Saint Cecilia Elementary School. In return they have received blessings.

The gift of Saint Cecilia Elementary School is not an experience limited to the past. It has and is a dynamic present experience.

The gift of Saint Cecilia Elementary School reaches beyond the present experience through the lives of its alumni. Whatever the age of our alumni (and I believe the oldest alum of the Elementary School reaches back to the late 1920’s or early 1930’s) each one and the entire number of them exhibit a “future” that Saint Cecilia Elementary School opened for them. Each one departed the halls of our school to fill a “future” with personal integrity and industry, with Catholic Faith and Christian witness, with the prepared capacity to learn and live and lead family life, professions and careers, neighborhood and social interactions, religious practice and in countless commitments to goodness and truth and service of others.

The 2009 Comedy & Cuisine co-chairs, Mike and Martha O’Connor and Rus and Marci Biven, have devoted countless hours of planning, collaborating and enticing a brigade of volunteers to make our gathering enjoyable and successful for the continuing future of Saint Cecilia Elementary School. If you see them this evening or think about it in the weeks to come be sure to thank them.

These are challenging time for Catholic Schools. These are challenging times for families and for young people preparing for adult responsibilities in the world of tomorrow. The legacy of Saint Cecilia Elementary School offers hope for our challenges and it also challenges our hopes for new successes and successful alumni.

I appreciate your support of this evening and am grateful for your continuing support of our school.

Fr. Michael Gutgsell
Pastor