Announcements: 14th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Dear Holy Rosary Parishioners, here are some important announcements:

Subsistence fishing: After about ten minutes of having my net out for the first time this year, I got a few hits. I pulled in the net on the pulley system and there was a huge king and a few reds. In about 30 minutes I had enough reds to smoke (10 reds, known as sockeye). It was a beautiful day. Pat Durbin came down to check things out. It is his fishing gear that I am using. He pointed out the floating island in the picture and that my King Salmon was around 38 pounds. More about Pat below.



Rosary: After Mass this Sunday we will be praying a Rosary for all of our generous benefactors, especially those Anchorage Archdiocesan parishes who have helped us with heating fuel. All are welcome to join us this Sunday.

Youth Visit: Twelve youth from Saint Benedict and Saint Elizabeth parishes should be here July 6 to July 10. We have a great week planned for them such as a visit to Clarks Point, a bon fire, community service (Dillingham Grave Yard), Peter Pan tour, Mass at the Senior Center, and daily Mass. If you are interested in joining us, please do, all are welcome.

Canon Law: My visit to Anchorage last week pulled me a little deeper into the realm of canon law. Currently I am defender of the bond, which means if a person wants an annulment, I fight against it. In the 46 cases I did this year, I won one. Now, they want to make me Judicial Vicar and Judge of the tribunal. I told them that with communication the way it is I could practically run the tribunal from here in Dillingham. I think they were OK with that. I will be traveling to Anchorage once every two months this next year to train out to be the Judge.

Gospel: Jesus preaches in his own home town. The people remember him as a carpenter’s son. Now he is claiming to be the Messiah? This same boy who we hung out with in school? This same boy who we teased and played ball with? The people are envious and run Jesus out of town. How can we overcome this sin of envy?

Status on Pat: Pat Durbin has returned from Anchorage. To help his circulation, surgeons had to run some kind of wire down the veins of his legs. His entire stomach is bruised but he his walking around. In fact, he walked part of the way to Holy Rosary from the Airport. He will be returning to Anchorage in a couple of weeks to possibly have a shunt/stint? put into his heart.

Thank you: Thanks to Brian for volunteering to be altar server at the two funerals we had. He was a tremendous help to me in ensuring a prayerful and distraction free environment for the mourners. Thank you to all who helped at the funeral for Terry Nelson. The potluck and decorations were wonderful!

Prayers: Please pray for vocations to the priesthood and religious life this week.

Have a fantastic week and see you Sunday...Fr. Scott

Announcements: 13th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Dear Holy Rosary Parishioners, here are a few important announcements:

Funeral for Terry Nelson: The funeral for Mary Theresa Nelson will be Friday, June 26, at 1:00 PM. There will be a potluck to follow. Please keep the Nelson family in your prayers.

50th Anniversary Celebration: Dan and Dee O’Connell celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary Sunday, June 7th. What a great blessing their marriage has been to our Catholic Church. There will be a special blessing of their marriage during Mass in July, followed by a Potluck. More to come later…stay tuned!

Gospel: Jesus heals two sick people in the gospel. It drains him. When the hemorrhaging woman touched his cloak, “The power drained out of him.” We all have the ability to heal others in certain ways. Healing others calls us to go that extra mile to help another in need. For example, say a kind word to a street person, re-adjust your busy schedule to sit with a suffering person, or pray for someone.

Prayers: Please pray for Pat Durbin as he is having more tests on his heart. He will be in Anchorage Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. If the doctors find complications, he may stay longer.

Youth Visit: The youth are scheduled to come from Anchorage July 6-10. If you have a life preserver for the skiff ride to Clarks point, would you mind dropping it by Holy rosary and putting it in the Old Church. Also, I am looking for some sleeping mats, 12 total, to put on the floor of the church basement and rectory basement for sleeping. Beaver Bed and Breakfast basically donated a van for us to use while they are here. They are charging us only $100 for using it a week. Several youth from around Dillingham have offered to help out, for example Angeli Venua, Kristen Clark. and Chelsea Wassily.

August Mission Talks: I will going to Green Bay Wisconsin August 5th through the 27th for mission talks and to visit my friends Eric and Dawn in North Carolina. During the mission talks I will be the celebrant at all of the week-end masses in each location. Aileen Walsh will be providing communion services in my absence. Thank you so much Aileen. Below is a schedule of my mission talks. These talks are to help raise money for our Holy Rosary Mission.

August 8-9
Good Shepherd Parish, Chilton, WI; Mass: Sat at 4:00 PM, Sun 8 and 10 AM

August 15-16
Holy Cross parish in Mishicot and Saint Ann Parish in Francis Creek; Mass: Sat 4:00 and 6:00 PM, Sun 8:00 and 10:00 AM

August 17-27
Wilmington, NC

Good Luck Fishing! Have a blessed week…Fr. Scott

Announcements: 12th Sunday in Ordinary time

Dear Holy Rosary Parishioners, here are a few announcements.

Funeral: There will be a funeral for William Tennyson tomorrow, June 16, at the 7th Day Adventist Church at 2:00 PM. After the Funeral Mass, we will meet in the Holy Rosary parking lot for a procession to the cemetery and burial ceremony. Please remember the Tennyson family in your prayers.

Thank you: Thank you Pat Durban and Bernie, Angie, and Brian Venua for helping tear down the Handicap ramp. It broke while Vic B. was standing on it. He was hurt, but fortunately, no broken bones. There were several places that showed rot after the ramp was torn apart. We need to start planning a new ramp, any suggestions?

Clarks Point Baptism: June 12, Samuel James Slattengren was baptized at Clarks Point. Congrats to Brittany and all the Clarks Point Community. Please see pictures on the Holy Rosary Home Page, http://www.holyrosaryalaska.org/.

Gospel: The calming of a storm is not something we, as mere human beings, can do. Only God can calm a storm. Only Jesus can calm our inner storms. We must trust, have faith so we can build up our inner faith. Then we can weather any storm.

Rosary: Join us after mass as we, as a Catholic Community, pray the rosary together. We will dedicate the rosary to all of our generous benefactors, especially those Archdiocesan parishes who have helped with our fuel bill. The next rosary will be prayed after mass on Sunday, July 5th.

Catholic Youth to Visit Dillingham: Here is a rough draft of events that the youth will partake in while they are here at Holy Rosary. All are welcome to hook up with us, especially youth from Dillingham, Clarks, and King Salmon.

Holy Rosary Youth Visit
Monday July 6 2009 to Friday July 10 2009

July 6th
1. Youth arrive on morning Penair flight, load gear in truck, walk to Holy Rosary
2. Set up basement of church and basement of rectory (need mats or sleeping pad)
3. Meet youth from Dillingham, Clarks Point, King Salmon
4. Subsistence Fishing instruction, fishing

July 7th
1. Morning Mass at Holy Rosary 10:00 AM
2. Work day in the community (need ideas, pick up trash, stack wood, etc.)
3. Work day Holy Rosary

July 8th
1. Visit to Clarks Point (skiff or fly)
2. Mass at Saint Peter Fisherman, 11:30 AM
3. Bon Fire back at Holy Rosary

July 9th
1. Morning Mass, possibly at Senior center
2. Visit Senior center: Speaker on Alaska History?
3. Visit Grammas’ House for the dying?
4. Tour of Peter Pan?
5. Tour of Hospital?

July 10th – Youth depart on evening Penair Flight

Have a fantastic day and see you Sunday…Fr. Scott

Announcements: Corpus Christi

Dear Holy Rosary Parishioners here are a few announcements:

Blessing of the Fleet: Thank you to all who participated in the Blessing of the Fleet. I would like to say, “Thank you very much Angela Clark and the Clark family for organizing and coordinating this annual event.” Thank you especially to Aileen Walsh, the Venuas, June Ingram, Janice Shilanski, and Pat Durbin for helping out. This is a huge undertaking and your time and talent is greatly appreciated. FANTASTIC JOB!

Gospel: Corpus Christi (Body of Christ) is the center of our faith. Catholics believe that the priest, during the consecration, actually changes the bread and wine into the Body and Blood of Christ. Other protestant religions believe that the bread and wine only represent Christ’s Body and Blood.

Need Some Work Done?: Youth from Anchorage will be in Dillingham the week of July 4th. They are scheduled to work in our Dillingham community July 7, Tuesday. If you, or if you know of anyone who needs some extra help around the house/yard, etc., please let me know and we will put you/them on our list.

Flowers: Flowers are starting to emerge around Holy Rosary church and rectory. Thank you to those who help to beautify our church.

Prayers: Please continue to keep the Tennyson family in your prayers. William continues to struggle with cancer. Toda, I have been invited by the family to come by and pray a rosary for William.

One Bread one Body: We have come close to our goal of $2,200. Thank you for supporting the missions of Alaska. The appeal will be over this week. If you would like to donate, please let me know.

Flying: Last week I flew to several villages in our town I have not flown to, including Valdez, Whittier, Seward, and Talkeetna. It was intense mountain flying. From Whittier to Valdez is very rugged. There is not any good place to land (water or mountain cliffs or glaciers), no VOR, and no radio contact. It was a bit un-nerving and I prayed that my GPS would not glitch out.

I was able to concelebrate Mass with Fr. Dick Tero and Deacon Wally Corrigan in Seward. Playing music at the Mass was the popular Christian family Shaelaurel. They were fabulous. Check them out - http://www.shaelaurel.com/ShaeLaurel/ShaeLaurel-Home.html

Below are a few pictures of my trip.

Have a great week and see you Sunday…Fr. Scott

Between Whittier and Valdez

Almost to Valdez! You can see the runway off to the right, a little over half way up.


Saint Francis Xavier, Catholic Church in Valdez. Sr. Maria Ann Brent S.H.F. Administrator.

Looks like the first catch of the season in Valdez.

Valdez Airport

On the way to Seward via Skilak lake pass.