Dear Friend of Carmel Mission,
I hope that you are safe and in good health during this time of uncertainty.
In the Gospel this week, the disciples of Jesus face great uncertainty and are under a cloud of unknowing. Jesus promises He will not leave them orphans, but He knows they may feel afraid, alone and isolated after his Crucifixion.
Just a few short months ago, many of us were like those disciples, discerning the first rumblings of concern, but having no real comprehension of the havoc that the Coronavirus was to create in our individual lives, our parish, and our world. So much is still uncertain, and we have sustained blows that are unprecedented in our lifetimes. Still though, the promise of Jesus remains, he has not left us orphans.
As we have been unable to gather for worship together, we have developed a “virtual” community online via our website, carmelmission.org. Through our streaming masses, daily prayers, and prayer requests we have remained united as a parish family. We continue, through our ministries, to be the helping hands of Christ in our world, serving those who are most vulnerable to the ravages of the virus, among them the homeless and farmworkers in the Salinas Valley.
We have had to face some difficult decisions and challenging circumstances. We continue to adapt our work to serve you and our community. This bulletin is intended to share the news of the difficult situations we have been navigating along with the good works being done to ensure our Mission has a bright future emerging from this pandemic.
I share the great sadness of our community over the closure of our Junipero Serra School. The Catholic education provided here for the last 75 years has greatly benefited all who attended JSS, and indeed, our local community and the wider world. Unfortunately there was no viable path forward for the school in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic. In this bulletin you will find more details about the closure of our school.
In the coming days we will be reaching out to by phone hoping to connect with each parishioner, one on one, to see how each of you is faring and what we might do to serve you further.
Your contributions have never been more important. I cannot thank you enough for your generosity. At a time when all other revenue is nonexistent only your support keeps us going and enables us to serve you and those most in need. We greatly value your continued support to keep our spiritual house strong.
We look forward to the time we can welcome you back to worship with us. We also eagerly anticipate the celebration of the 250th anniversary of the founding of the Carmel Mission in 2021. This will be a great opportunity for us to come together as a strong and unified community.
Our Savior reminds us that we are not orphans. We can never be cut off from the boundless love and mercy of our God, or from the care and compassion of our brothers and sisters in Christ. As always, our strength and our courage comes from God.
I wish you and your loved ones continued blessings of good health and renewed hope,