Dear Friend of Carmel Mission,
We hear in Jesus’ parable today that many are invited to the Lord’s feast. God invites us all to his home, the Kingdom of Heaven. He asks only that we come ready to join in the celebration, to contribute our talents, our time and our energy to building up the Kingdom of God. As followers of Jesus Christ, we are called to emulate His example of selfless service and generous love. This too is an invitation, in serving and in loving we grow in our relationship with God and with one another. We are all invited, we need only say yes and be ready to follow where the voice of God leads.
We have in our community a wonderful example of those who have answered yes to God’s call to service, our Falge Farmworker Program. Founded by Bitten Falge, a longtime parishioner, this ministry has served the farmworkers in the Salinas Valley since 1989, providing beans and rice year round, and special deliveries at Thanksgiving and Christmas with extra groceries and Christmas gifts for the families. This ministry is generously supported by the Knights of Columbus and the Knights of Malta, but mostly by you, our parish community.
This time of COVID- 19 has opened our eyes in new ways to what it means to be an essential worker. Our farmworkers are the very definition of essential. They have continued to work in the fields to provide us with food not only during the pandemic, but through the challenges presented by the recent fires and subsequent poor air quality. They cannot work from home, and they cannot wait for conditions to improve, they must continue on schedule to cultivate and harvest the crops. We are the beneficiaries of their tireless work, and we now have an opportunity to support our brothers and sisters when they need us most.
This weekend we will be taking up a second collection at our Masses to support the work of the Falge Farmworker Program. I hope you will consider donating to this important cause, either at Mass, or by clicking the DONATE button on the website and choosing the option for “Second Collection – Falge Farmworker.” My thanks to the Steering Committee and all who work in the Falge Farmworker Program, and to all of you for your generous continued support.
I wish you and your loved ones continued blessings of good health, new hope, and deep peace,
Fr. Paul
Please take a moment to read our Carmel Mission weekly bulletin.