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Rexy Joseph
Rexy Joseph
Rexy Joseph is a member and Catechist at the SMCB Parish. He is also a member of the SMCB Times Core Team and served as a trustee of the outgoing Parish Council.
He lives in Hopinton, MA, with his wife Anu and 2 sons, Rian and Rohan.
Glory To God In the Highest, Amen
Glory To God In the Highest, Amen
Dear Friends,
First of all, I would like to congratulate the newly appointed parish council and the trustees in taking up the new roles within our community.
It was indeed a moving ceremony as they took oath.
I would also like to thank Fr. Stephen, our dear Vicar, for the very moving homily, where he exalted all the work done by the outgoing parish council.
It has been a whirlwind of 3 years for the outgoing Parish Council and I should say the experience has been one of the most enriching ones.
It has been a whirlwind of 3 years for the outgoing Parish Council and I should say the experience has been one of the most enriching ones.
I remember the day when we took the oath of office and the realization of the deep sense of responsibility that was dawning on us.
At the start of our term, I always knew it would a steep learning curve. I counted myself lucky, as most of the time, it was guided by good counsel and some sheer luck.
We had an excellent leader in our then vicar Fr. Anthony, who would advise, guide and support us through the process. When we faltered, he would pick-us up and then lead us through. I will confess that I had my own share of those falls, but always learnt from it.
Being part of the community and leading it, is hard. Most of the times you would be second guessing the decisions you are about to take. The deep-seated feeling that all decisions might not be acceptable to all, keeps me up many a times.
Early on I also learnt that, when once the decisions are taken, and they are presented with the best of intention, the community has a tendency to rally behind it.
I am a witness to many such decisions.
I learnt that it's quite different leading in a company from leading a community. While the former expects the decisions to be driven for profit, the latter expects it to propel the community forward. Decisions which hhelp one to succeed in one might potentially backfire in the other.
I had learnt that the hard way too.
During the first year of our term, I witnessed our community come together in the usual gatherings. Each Feasts, Qurbana, CCD sessions and prayer events were well attended and joyous occasions. Every Sunday, every first Friday and every prayer meeting was an occasion for this community to gather, break bread and share stories. We had guests and priests, we had picnics and retreats, we had thattukada and feasts. We had it all and those surely were joyous times. I still cherish those.
The second year was a tough year. With the outbreak of the pandemic and lockdown for most part of the year, the community came together to ensure that all were safe.
New rules were put in as to when the churches will be opened, who all are allowed to come, when can they come and how should they come.
This community listened and followed them to the letter. These rules and procedures that were put in ensured that all our families were safe through the entirety of the pandemic.
I witnessed the power of prayer and what it can do to our community. I witnessed our community banding together to prepare and serve food for families affected by COVID. I witnessed families come together to celebrate a rite of passage, as we welcomed new communicants.
I stand witness to all these and this has taught me why our community is one and always be there together.
The third year is what I consider to be our revival. From the deep despairs of 2020, the new year of 2021 brought us hope.
Hope with the new vaccine, hope with a new priest (Fr. Stephen) joining our community and hope that all will return to normal. As the year progressed, these hopes slowly turned into reality. Our community, spared by big disruptions of services was always hopeful and prayerful.
We slowly revived all the events with hopes to bring back the community to what it was.
We started the feasts, started the celebrations, started our CCD and even brought our community to break-bread in church once again, together. We still continue to learn, to live with the new reality, but surely we have learnt a lot along the way.
The three years went by in a blink of an eye. But the memories are there to cherish. The friends I made, the lessons I learnt, the people I interacted with, the events that I witnessed and surely the blessings I received, will always be with me.
As I was welcoming the new Trustees and the Parish Council, I saw in them the same hopes, aspirations, and wherewithal that I have seen in many from our community in the past 3 years.
This new council reflects us. They are us. We support them and counsel them on our wants, and they will heed to our needs.
This is a thanksgiving to the community that I am a proud member of.
The community that gave me an opportunity to "WITNESS". The community that taught me what it is to “LISTEN”.
The community that gave me an opportunity to "WITNESS". The community that taught me what it is to “LISTEN”.
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