I am pleased to share with you the audio of our monthly parish family townhall gathering. As always, you may watch the video here – and I’ve included the timestamps below for reference & easy access – but the best way to navigate the video is to watch it on YouTube and use the timestamps there.

This month’s townhall gathering took place in the middle of what some excitable meteorologists were calling a “bomb cyclone”. While our region was spared any major issues, attendance was understandably sparse. A major blessing, however, was the opportunity to have our first truly bi-lingual townhall gathering. As you can see from the timestamps (below) and will hear, the conversations were in no way stunted by switching between Spanish & English – especially thanks to the generosity of our Spanish-speakers in providing help with my limited vocabulary.

Please note that out of deference to Christmas, we will NOT have a townhall gathering in December: our next parish family townhall gathering will be at Saint Anne parish in Forks on Friday, January 24, 2025 from 6:30 pm to 8 pm. As always, all are welcome! I hope to see you there.

The fifth of our monthly parish family townhall gatherings. Held on the fourth Friday of each month and at a different church within the Catholic communities of the Olympic Peninsula, these gatherings are an opportunity for the pastor to provide updates on the state of the parish family and for parishioners to ask questions, receive answers, and offer feedback as we discern how we will become one parish family as part of Partners in the Gospel.

Please note: Questions were asked and answered in both English & Spanish. Time stamps (below) have been provided for listeners to skip to the language of their choice, but conversations switched between the languages fairly organically and often with little warning. Rather than skip sections, it may be helpful to adjust the playback speed (click the gear icon on the video) to listen for the language of your choice so that you do not miss helpful answers & conversations.

Nota: Las preguntas se formularon y respondieron tanto en inglés como en español. Se han proporcionado marcas de tiempo (a continuación) para que los oyentes puedan pasar al idioma de su elección, pero las conversaciones cambiaron de un idioma a otro de manera bastante natural y, a menudo, sin previo aviso. En lugar de omitir secciones, puede ser útil ajustar la velocidad de reproducción (haga clic en el ícono de engranaje en el video) para escuchar el idioma de su elección y así no perderse respuestas y conversaciones útiles.

• 00:00 – Recording start and opening prayer
• 01:35 – Disclaimer & explanation of format
• 01:53 – State of and updates about the parish family
• 02:05 – [English] – about the changes to the Saturday vigil Mass & confession schedules
  – 04:38 – [Español]
  
• 07:47 – [English] – about the changes to the monthly priest rotation schedule
  – 11:22 – [Español]
  
• 14:27 – [Español] – about preparations of big celebrations in December
  – 15:40 – [English]
  
• 18:00 – [English] – any updates on the roof work at Saint Mary Star of the Sea?
  – 21:35 – [Español]
  
• 25:12 – [English] – some commentary on the difficulty of replacing the main beam of the church
  26:38 – [Español]
  
• 29:00 – [English] – is the (excess) money the parish sends to the archdiocese for savings available for our use?
  – 32:09 – [Español]
  
• 35:42 – [English] – follow-up conversation on money & the roof in general
  – 37:06 – [Español]
  
• 38:25 – [English] – could arrangements be made for a kneeler section in front of the sanctuary during communion?
  – 44:43 – [Español]
  
• 49:13 – [English] – some follow-up on prior practice with other priests
  – 49:47 – [Español]
  
• 52:27 – [English] – further observations
  – 54:56 – [Español]
  
• 56:20 – [Español] – for confessions at Saint Mary Star of the Sea, could we invite other priests who might speak Spanish more fluently?
  – 01:01:45 – [English]
  
• 01:04:10 – [Español] – a continuation of the question of guest priests
  – 01:04:49 – [English]
  
• 01:06:21 – [English] – thoughts from our liaison
  – 01:08:38 – [Español]
  
• 01:10:55 – [English] – is my confession valid if the priest doesn’t understand?
  – 01:12:59 – [Español]
  
• 01:17:12 – [English] – some further conversation on fluency and receiving advice (plus: Father Gali is VERY well-educated!)
  
• 01:18:47 – [English] – will you be meeting with parents to talk through the possibility of moving faith formation away from Sundays?
  – 01:23:11 – [Español]
  
• 01:25:20 – [English] – could we use Latin to bring our different language-speaking communities together?
  – 1:31:18 – [Español]
  
• 01:34:56 – [Español] – would it be possible to invite Spanish-speaking priests for much-needed catechetical instruction? (plus, a question about Catholics & Halloween)
  – 01:40:21 – [English]
  
• 01:42:08 – [English] – why do Catholics not celebrate Halloween?
  – 01:44:33 – [Español]
  01:57:22 – Conclusion & closing prayer