God bless you Fr. Jim McNamara! - Parish of the Holy Cross

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A letter to Father Jim Fr. Jim, You came to us at the Parish of the Holy Cross as the hand-picked successor to Fr. Bill, probably with a great deal of input from Fr. Bill and Fr. Joe, our founding co-pastors. You were the author of three books and columnist of the Long Island Catholic, a well known presenter of retreats all over the country and world, and a spiritual director to many, but we didn’t know you. We only knew you as this public person, and to be truthful, these facts were a bit daunting to us. But, the first thing you did when you got here was kneel down and ask for Fr. Bill’s blessing. What a beautiful and humble act on your part, and what a quick way to find a way into our hearts. In the ensuing years, we’ve gotten to know the man, the priest and the pastor. You have weathered the ups and downs that occur in one’s life and in the life of the parish, always with a prayerful and hopeful attitude. You invited parishioners to come to Mass regularly and to pray with Scripture in the peaceful atmosphere of your house garden during the summer months of leisure time. With your guidance and leadership, we as a parish have sold a house, bought two houses, knocked down one house, built a community vegetable garden, created a shrine to the Blessed Mother, constructed a Children’s Memorial Garden, and enhanced our parish and house grounds with many individual projects. You wholeheartedly embraced our Outreach efforts to reach out globally to help those whose lives were in poverty. When asked to consider a project, you always gave it thoughtful reflection, you never just said “no,” but “How can this be accomplished?” You consider a request, ask for input, make a decision and act! You truly lived up to the name we dubbed you when you first came, “Father Yesterday!” Your attention to all the needs of your people, in both happy and sad moments, are an inspiration to us who work with you. You are patiently there with your listening ears and heart, sometimes just present, but most times with chocolate chip cookies. You will be remembered by all the young people in our parish whose Religious Education classes you visited, and who were always surprised when you called them by name on Sunday. You called forth the young families in the parish to be in leadership roles in ministry and service. You introduced us to the beauty of Assisi and the life of St. Francis, and the journeys of St. Paul. You live your life as a priest in constant prayer, and your example of prayerfulness is one we hope to model. So you are still the author, the columnist, the retreat giver and spiritual director you were when you came, and also Vicar, but now you are our friend and we thank God for these almost eleven years with you. We wish you an abundance of happiness in your new parish and home. We will miss you, but know that you are always in our hearts. Your loving Pastoral Team and Staff 4 Father Jim, Father Bill and Fr. Joe with the Pastoral Team and Office Staff
PARISH OUTREACH Today we say goodbye to Fr. Jim and wish him many blessings as he takes on new challenges in his ministries at Point Lookout and serving the people of our Diocese in the Western Vicariate. We would also like to THANK him for embracing and enthusiastically supporting Heifer International. We began our connection with Heifer almost 10 years ago, and the parish has donated $33,163 to them through the years. That is an amazing amount of quarters! To honor Fr. Jim and his commitment to both our community and the global community, we have purchased a Heifer in his name. This gift of a cow is not just a tribute to Fr. Jim: It’s a gift of milk every morning for a malnourished child; It’s a gift of up to four gallons of milk a day so an anxious parent can sell the extra to pay for their child’s food, clothes, school and medicine; And, it’s a gift that brings generations of renewed hope for an impoverished village as each family fulfills its promise to Pass on the Gift of offspring As Fr. Jim moooooo-ves on, we send him off with our blessings, our thanks and our appreciation of the years he has shared his gifts with our Holy Cross community. 5
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God bless you Fr. Jim McNamara! - Parish of the Holy Cross

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