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the Portland Peninsula and Islands of Portland Harbor
Roman Catholic Diocese of Portland, Maine

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Read about the Cluster 21 mission, September 21-25, 2008

From Sunday, September 21, 2008 through Thursday, September 25, Redemptorist priests Fr. Patrick Woods, C.Ss.R and Fr. John McGowan, C.Ss.R. led the five parishes of Cluster 21 through our "Gather Us" mission, on the theme "Find Your Treasure."  In addition to daytime services and instructions, for five evenings, priests and parishioners from each of our five parishes gathered at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception to sing, pray, listen, and reflect on our mission as Church. We considered what it is to be Church to eachother, and what it means to be a part of this great community called Church.

Throughout the week, we shared our ministries, our time, our talents, and our treasures. We found a few treasures in new friends, familiar and soon to be familiar.

Many of us can recall the saying of the Rosary, the music ministers getting ready and playing the prelude while organizers and participants prepared for the service, the procession, priests, people, planners, greeters, symbols, and the people that carried them, signs, sacraments, altar servers, readers, those who fed us, encouraged us, praised us, sang with us, and all who helped us along ... thank God for them all.

Mary Ibrahim from Cathedral Parish reported, "One young adult, who attended all 5 evenings, said to me, 'I feel as though my soul is being nourished!' " Mary also said that she overheard a longtime Cathedral parishioner say, regarding working together as a cluster with lots of parishes working together, "I think it is great!"

Betty Cyr of Cathedral added, "An Awesome 5 days! Many from our Cluster 21 Parishes came together to share "Time, Talk, Touch and Tears". The four T's were offered to us by Fr. Pat and Fr. John who lead us through 5 days and nights of our Cluster "Gather Us" Mission. The Mission was an unforgettable Treasure. Thanks to Fr. Pat and Fr. John.

Clorinda Noyes of Sacred Heart / St. Dominic Parish said, "I was able to attend the mission on Thursday night and enjoyed being there. I am blessed to be part of the Sacred Heart / St. Dominic community and the larger cluster as well. The treasure for me was in the exceptional music ministry. Thank you to all of them.” Ray Rier of SHSDP added, "Though I do not normally attend services at the Cathedral I received a warm welcome at the door and enjoyed the sermon and music."

Chris Hoppin from St. Christopher's on Peaks Island added, "It was great to see and hear terrific current reminders of our faith fundamentals, especially the Resurrection."  

Bob Konczal, a St. Louis parishioner, commented that "at the Wednesday service a heartening moment descended on the participants, when all held candles aloft in the dark on behalf of loved ones."

Vicki Dunn from St. Peter's said, "It was very moving, inspirational with a dash of humor. It was truly a great event! "

Msgr. Paul Stefanko reported that included within the collection envelopes for the Redemptorists were some heart-felt notes:

• "This mission with Fr. John and Fr. Patrick has been priceless!"
• "Thank you for such a wonderful mission.  It couldn't have come at a better time. .  ..Thank you again for the uplifting you have given me."
• "You gave us something we needed for a long time."

It truly was a faith-filled week, and helped to strengthen the bond between our parishes. As a cluster, we wish the other clusters in our Diocese a grace-filled mission of their own.

Find more information about our mission at: www.cluster21portland.org/findyourtreasure.