Fr. Yenda's Monthly Letters 2005

(One or two missing - I will see if we can track them down!)

February 2005

Lent is now pretty much upon us! Lent is not here to be enjoyed, it is the most miserable time of the church’s year….or is it?

Lent always seems to me to be so very different to the other Penitential season we have which is Advent. In Advent we come into church and see the purple on the altar, and we are filled with joy….the Advent hymns are about the most beautiful in the hymn books, and it isn’t long before we get to Christmass.

But Lent! The hymns are sombre, it goes on for nearly twice as long as Advent, the purple on the altar fails to cheer us, and nowhere is there a feeling of joy.

Even at home, things are not as they might be. We see the chocolates put away and we struggle not to touch them, the sherry bottle too is under lock and key, and how many of us will have finished our last packet of St. Moritz or Silk Cut until the end of Lent?!

Yes, in Lent we have a tradition of giving up things….and by good chance, it tends to be things we enjoy and things that we will miss having.

There is however, a different approach, which is equally valid. That is to take something on. Perhaps to do a little extra spiritual reading, a little more time spent in prayer, and the old favourite (that all clergy remind their people of at this time of year), the idea of attending more weekly services than we might otherwise do.

Lent reminds of Our Lord being tempted in the desert by the devil; and how He refused to give in to that temptation.

Lent brings us into Holy Week, when we see Our Lord’s suffering at its most gruesome when He is nailed to the Cross on Good Friday.

That suffering is something which we in the Christian Community identify with at this time of year. We all look forward to Easter, and we all know that the better we have kept Lent, the better we actually enjoy Easter!

Suffering is something which is all around us; and we have seen it in large measure in the Tsunami disaster in Eastern Asia. There has also been the suffering nearer to home of those who have lost homes and business and even loved ones in the storms in the northern part of our own country.

These great tragedies we cannot seek to understand. We can only offer them up to God, for Him to take to Himself, and to ask Him through our own prayers to comfort those who are grieved.

As those effected by these disasters seek to rebuild their lives, we look at the Cross of Christ, and see their suffering and all suffering in His suffering; the Incarnate Son suffered and as we suffer in our many and varying ways, He is there with us.

Lent is the time when we draw our minds to that suffering; and we ask ourselves what we are going to do this year for Lent. How are we going to mark this time of year ourselves?

Well, there are always the weekday Eucharist's, there is a Lent course, there are probably a whole wealth of things we can do this year to mark Lent in a clear way for ourselves. And of course, many of us will try and lose the odd lb….and why not? For in our spiritual and sacrificial efforts, there is no harm in doing ourselves some practical good at one and the same time!. .

With every good wish,

March 2005

I am reminded of an occasion a couple of years back when I went to a concert at the Bridgewater Hall in Manchester. Concerts are a great interest to me, and especially if I am to hear the Rachmaninoff 3rd. Concerto. (as on this evening ,performed by the pianist Nelson Georner) which is one of my favourite works.

Normally at a concert there are three pieces on the programme. In the first half a short overture, then the Concerto, and in the second half a major symphony or some such long work. Nine times out of ten, once I have heard the concerto I toddle off home before the second half.

On this occasion the programme was to include a new and rather avant grade work by Maxwell Davies. No problem for me— I would just leave after the concerto, and not have to worry about the later work.

To my surprise (I use here the polite word!), I found that the concerto had been programmed for the second half, and the Maxwell Davies work in the first half. Obviously the public attendance was mainly there to hear the great concerto, and if the modern work had been in the second half pretty much no one would have stayed. Still, that might not have mattered, except that the composer himself was to conduct this work, and had he appears to an empty auditorium it might have been a little embarrassing , to say the least!.

All I remember of the work is that the composer mentioned that at times it would seem that little was happening in the piece (well, at least he spoke the truth!), and the other was the constant study of my wrist watch as I longed for the second half!

For the second half to have made it worthwhile sitting through the first half, it would have had to have been pretty good!! But to my amazement it was one of the greatest and most wonderful performances of the Rachmaninoff 3rd. I can remember hearing (and I have heard a few). So enthralled was I, that I almost forgot the dire and turgid experience of the hour before, and was lifted with great excitement into some of the most brilliant music making I had heard in many years.

So, where is all this going and what has this to do with the church magazine?! Well. Simply this. We are now in Lent, and preparing for Holy Week.

Holy week is a time when we reach the most sombre time in the church’s calendar. Our Lord’s preparing for His suffering and death. We do, of course know that Easter is but a few days away, but in essence, the days of Holy Week, and most especially the days of the Triduum seem so steep that they are almost like climbing some liturgical mountain which we have to surmount before we can get to the great joy and celebration of Easter.

And each year is the same, the very wonderful experience of that sad time of year, coupled with the great joy of Our Lord’s Resurrection on the 3rd. day. In so many way we might like to be able to do away with the sadness and just get to the joyful bit straight away. But if we could, the joy would be less. Because after we have shared in the suffering of Our Lord, we are then all the more able to share in His joyful Resurrection on that Easter day.

I look forward so very much to the worship we will offer at St Mary’s this coming Holy Week, which is a particularly special time for a pries who is new to a parish. I wish everyone a very blessed and holy Easter, when we get to it, and pray that during Holy Week we will all continue to grow that bit closer to God.

Fr. Yenda.

May 2005

My Dear People of St. Mary’s,

Each month when I sit to write the magazine letter, I am always aware that important events can happen at the time of my writing which may pale into insignificance by the time that the magazine is actually published!

Not so on this occasion though, I am sure. Because I am writing on the evening of the funeral of Pope John Paul ii. I am sure that what we have all witnessed on our television screens has been nothing short of incredible.

So many people turned out to show their affection — and whatever one’s viewpoint on the views the late Pope held, so much of his warmth and his courage during his latter years of illness have so clearly touched so many of us. Even those of us who are not in communion with the church of Rome can see so many instances where we have all been in some way or other touched by the man he was.

Perhaps most poignant of all, of course, were the many thousands of people from Poland who made the trip to the funeral. That they travelled such a distance is quite something, but most remarkable of all is the fact that they were actually able to do so.

Because if we think back to 1978 when the Pope was elected, people from Poland and other Eastern Block countries were unable to travel anywhere without enormous difficulties. If we think how long ago that now seems, we are almost in danger of forgetting what life was like when the Iron Curtain was up. ‘The Iron Curtain Pope’ were the headlines of that day in 1978, and looking back on that day, how many of us would have expected to have seen the liberation of the peoples of those countries within those passing years.

But perhaps if we take anything from the late Pope’s life, it is the courage he showed in his latter ill health. He showed us a clear example of the value which we all have in our lives, now matter how infirm we may become. So many people do live with the never ending challenge of infirmity. Equally, if not more challenging still, is for those who have to care for loved ones who suffer from long term illness. Both practically and emotionally that is so very often incredibly sacrificial, yet so often deeply rooted in the love that one person may share for another.

Quite evidently, the late Pope took up his cross — quite literally. In so many ways he ‘soldiered on’, and with great determination he fought to do as much as he could for as long as he could. He had been a greatly loved figure — and of course for many of us no other Pope really held much in our memories.

To watch so many people at such a deeply moving service is something that very few of us see in our lifetime. And yet over recent years it has become more common. Remember when Diana, Princess of Wales died — again the streets were full with people showing their love and regard.

There is something very poignant about the death of someone who touches a large number of people. Perhaps now we are more able as a society to express our feeling and show our admiration of those people who are in some way or another remarkable.

Ultimately I am drawn back time and time again to those wonderful words from the Preface in the Requiem, to which I refer time and again……’Lord for your faithful people, life is changed not ended’— in death we don’t come to an abrupt end, but we begin a new and eternal life with God — living in the joy and glory of God’s peace; living in the eternal life of Christ’s Resurrection.

As I draw to a close, you will no doubt be pleased that this is the first document you will probably have read in weeks which hasn’t been concerned with the General Election! I don’t know what most priests do with regards to an election, but I have always felt that it is not my place to tell people how I think they should vote — that would be a sauce! But I do urge people to consider carefully what a very great privilege and responsibility we have once we are standing at the ballot box with our voting slip completed in our hands. We need only see the news reports of countries like Zimbabwe to be all too aware of just how important this is!

As ever and with all good wishes

Fr. Yenda.

My Dear People of St. Mary’s,

Already we are in the 6th. month of the year, and we are asking ourselves where the time has gone! Though we have had so much happen in these first 6 months that the rest will probably be rather calm; after all we have had the earliest Holy Week possible, we have seen the death of Pope John Paul ii, and the election of Pope Benedict XVI, we have had a General Election, and the warm weather started (at least off and on) before we could officially cast our clouts at the end of May!

Or is it just that time seems to go quicker as we grow older….well there is that.

There again as we get older, often we mellow (although some of us may become crotchety!), very often we can do things we never thought we could do when we were younger, and of course the reverse is often the case too. Very often we grow into things, and our spiritual life is no different.

As a lad at school, I distinctly remember a teacher telling me that if I wanted to make any application to go to polytechnic (let alone university) it just wouldn’t be worth the postage stamp! (And fair play to her, tough though it sounds, she did save me all of 12p or whatever the post was in those days!) Later I did go — but not until I was in my mid 20s — and perhaps enjoyed the experience far more than I would have done had I gone when I was 18.

Very often things do work out far better than we at first think, and we are often surprised.

Being the Church in the 21st. century often poses us problems — we are after all a competitive industry! Think how many other activities people now have on a Sunday morning — Judo, Jujitsu, Ballet, Tap Dancing, Ballroom Dancing, Football, Ten Pin Bowling — and of course the much loved Car Boot Sale!

Then there are all the difficulties of being ‘relevant’ to the time in which we live — how do we relate to the social problems and all the stresses of the modern world, and still remain true to the traditions that the Church has given us over the centuries?

In the Church of England, we have those two wonderful words, ‘Via Media’ — a middle way. But treading that path can of course at times be difficult!

Part of the reason that I have such confidence in traditional worship, is that in all the changes, advances and problems that we face in society, the worship of the Church remains solid and stable. In our lives now we do have so little stability generally, that the stability of the worshipping community in that most precious act of offering worship to Almighty God is perhaps more important than it ever has been.

The Church of England does live in times of difficulty —and we are experiencing a number of matters of controversy as I write. But if we are to survive and come out the other side, we need to be centred around the worship above and beyond everything else.

Because it is the worshipping life of the Church which nourishes and sustains us in all things.

Perhaps nowhere is that more apparent than in our devotion to Our Blessed Lord in the Most Holy Sacrament. Christ truly present amongst us upon the altar in the Holy Communion in which He chooses to reveal Himself.

The most beautiful service of Benediction now takes place in our Church every 1st. Sunday, and it is a part of our devotional life which I always seek to encourage. In plain speaking, I am always convinced that the Catholic tradition within the Church of England is a live and lively faith — and Christ that true and living bread — the bread of eternal life — we see in its most lively forms Christ lives, alive and real, in the Real Presence of the Holy Sacrament of the Holy Communion.

so — there you have it — change, and stability all in a few short paragraphs….(well, I did stay up to watch the election!)

It being my continual joy and privilege to serve as your affectionate Parish Priest,

With all good wishes

Fr. Yenda.

My Dear People of St. Mary’s,

August — crumbs, the height of the holiday season — or is it? On the one hand it is the school holidays, and the time when families can actually get away as a unit. School teachers also have this wonderful month to get away. But as with all good things, there is a flip side to the coin.

The price! Why is it that all holidays cost more in August than at any other time of the year? Well, quite simply because it is the one time of the year when people can go on holiday together for a break with their families.

Of course those of us who don’t have families can take advantage of being able to go on holiday at other times — when the prices are significantly less. But as much as I love the holiday bargains, and can take advantage of them, it always seems terribly unfair that families have to pay through the nose, for a couple of weeks away each year.

But for those of us who have decided that we shall be around during August, there is still plenty to keep us interested! August is the time when we have a great celebration at St. Mary’s. All churches are dedicated in the name of a particular saint; and it is custom in some places that the day when their particular saint is remembered is a great ‘Patronal’ festival.

Ours is in August— St. Mary our Patron has a number of possible festivals— her Assumption, her Birthday, her Immaculate Conception to name but three, but it is custom in most churches with our dedication that the Patronal Festival should be that of the Assumption of St. Mary

Therefore on Saturday August 20th. we will celebrate our Patronal Festival, with a Solemn Eucharist in St. Mary’s at 12 noon, followed by a reception in the hall in Ashwell Avenue.

The Assumption is the feast of Mary being ‘assumed’ into Heaven — in some traditions it is referred to as the ‘dormition’ of St. Mary, or the ‘falling asleep’. It is the feast when she left her earthly life, and moved to life in heaven with God — that great gift of sharing in the Resurrection of Christ – Christ both our Lord, and her Son.

The Patronal festival in a church is a great feast day — and most churches make a point of inviting people from far and wide and making it a great celebration. That is no different for us either!

It is my fervent hope and prayer that this year we shall welcome a number of people from far and wide — but also that a number of people from our wider community will also be with us to celebrate our important day.

We are blessed with an incredibly beautiful mediaeval church, and we have many gifts from God to rejoice in…and our Patronal festival is the time when we are particularly able to share that with all those around us.

I very much look forward to seeing you on August 20th.—and look forward enormously to celebrating our great feast day!

As ever it is my joy and privilege to serve as your Parish Priest,

All good wishes Fr. Yenda.

My Dear People of St. Mary’s, ,

On May 17th. last year I came to look at the parish of St. Mary’s, Sundon, and went through what was an unusually pleasant interview process! ‘This would suit me !’ I remember thinking as I looked around the beautiful church, and got some idea of the folk as well.

That evening, in a rather plus yet also basic travel lodge (make of that what you will !); I received a telephone call from the Bishop of Bedford; asking me if I would like the job (or as the technical term goes, ‘the post’!). With my heart beating outside my shirt and up the wall in sheer excitement, I telephoned my mother in Letchworth, and took the order for a Chinese take-away — she had a house full with (either one or both of my) brother (s) there, and all of us have a great liking for Chinese food!

I arrived around 45 minutes later, and as we tucked into sweet and sour chicken, aromatic duck (well I was celebrating!) and the odd grain of fried rice, I glumly began to tell the golden fib… only as I began to smile they cottoned on, and I was able to deliver the good news that I had in fact been offered the post at Sundon.

This all comes to mind because on the 27th. Of this month, I will have been here for one whole year! And what a year it has been. When I accepted the post, the Bishop of St. Albans wrote to me and told me that this was a wonderful parish with ‘some wonderful Christians within it’. And at my licensing, the Bishop turned to me as we left the vestry and, realising the potential weight of such an occasion, said to me ‘don’t worry, we’ll carry you through tonight!’ He was as good as his word!

Since that day, it is almost as though I have never looked back. There is so much about this parish that is wonderful, that there are times when I am still amazed that I have found it! From the divine worship which sustains us in our Christian lives, to the simple few words on the street to passers by, this has simply been a wonderful year.

I shall always be indebted and enormously grateful to the Bishop of Bedford for inviting me here; and the support that I have received from both the bishops has been unquestionable, and much appreciated by myself. We are richly blessed here by both our wonderful church and the prayerful atmosphere within our worship, but at the same time, we are part of the diocese and the wider church. What we offer here at St. Mary’s, is in some ways different to many other churches, but I have always maintained that this adds a richness to the life of the diocese and all those parishes around us.

Last month, we laid Fr. Royston Beale to rest in our churchyard. His joyful character and love of life, coupled with his love for and devotion to his people at St. John’s Kensal Green, have made him so very dear to all of us at Sundon where he came from. I shall always remember his coming to St. Mary’s on Corpus Christi Sunday, and being very taken by the gentleness of his character.

Fr. Royston worked for 35 years at Kensall Green —a wonderful and devoted ministry; giving enormous stability to those people of his parish.

In that sense, we have, after one year of my being here, only just started! But over the coming years I know that we will move from strength to strength. God has clearly blessed us richly over this past year, and we must always remember that all the good things come from Him. He does His wonderful work — often in mysterious ways, it has to be said — but in using us, His kingdom is furthered and strengthened.

It being my very great joy and privilege to serve as your parish priest,

With all good wishes

Fr. Yenda.

My Dear People of St. Mary’s, ,

This afternoon I have been hectically cleaning the hallway carpet — my two small dogs make far more mess than my brother’s two great rotties! In he good old days, we would take a bucket of soapy water, a brush, kneel down on our hands and knees and get cracking! We might moan before we start the job, moan during it, and moan to our friends afterwards about what hard work it was.

But not any more! Oh no! For nowadays we have that wonderful invention the ‘Rug Doctor’! Put the detergent and water in, pull the machine across the carpet, and empty the receptacle when the whole carpet is clean. What could be simpler?!

The dirty water in the aforementioned receptacle, is best left un-described, but at least now my mother will have an easier time around the house when she next visits!

So much in life now seems to be along the lines of ‘out with the old and in with the new’ — and so often rather than cleaning up the old, we like to shift it to one side and buy new — not always a bad thing, but at times do we really need to do that?

Before people think that I have changed my vote to one with Green ink, that is far from the case, because what I am thinking about goes far beyond a new three piece suite; I am thinking more in terms of relationships, and how the changes in them do very seriously and deeply affect people.

We now see more broken relationships than ever before — admittedly in past years it was more difficult for a couple to split and although people do say that divorce is now too easy, was it right that people had to live under the sufferance of abuse, cruelty, unfaithfulness and no end of other intolerable situations, often causing years and years of misery?

The Church does have an enormous problem here; can people be expected to live in this way ad infinitum? Can people be allowed a fresh start? What of Our Lord’s words on re-marriage?

The whole matter is a minefield; partly because once a priest has remarried one couple, how does he draw the line; what criteria is there?

But what is more important, in my view, is how the Church shows compassion and support to people; both at a time of broken relationships, and after. Because there is no question that broken relationships are in fact bereavements; we don’t always see them as such, but they are — no matter how difficult the relationship has been, there is always an element of sadness when it draws to a close.

If someone later finds that they do have a chance of a fresh start, and that they do have the opportunity to build a new life, there is a very strong case for the Church to support it . Even though as a pries it has never been my practice to remarry divorcees, my personal sympathy is strongly in favour of provision to allow such marriages — but there does have to be common sense and order to it There can be no question of someone arriving at the Vicarage door with the ink still wet on their Decree Absolute, whilst they want to marry the following week!

In all this the most important element is that of compassion. Church members will rarely be able to come to a common mind on many issues; and this is of course the beauty of the Church of England. But when we are dealing with the sensitive issues of human relationships, then the need for compassion and sensitivity are all the more vital.

In all matters to do with the church matters and politics, people hold views often with great conviction — and naturally with strong feelings, people want their view to be put across with the intention that it will not only be listened to, but also observed! ! But it isn’t always as cut and dried as that. After all it might be good from my point of view if every Vicar in Luton agreed with me on everything — but my word what a boring town it would be if that were the case!

The joy of being part of the Church of England is that great variety amongst us — and amidst that variety there has to be that mutual respect which comes from the compassion shown to us by Our Blessed Lord; that not only should we love God, but also our neighbours as ourselves. That is the great commandment; and what a commandment it is!

It being my great joy and privilege to serve as your Parish priest,

All good wishes’

Fr. Yenda.,

November 2005

My Dear People of St. Mary’s, ,

My word is it really November already! The time has flown by so quickly, and it only seems five minutes since we stood at the War Memorial in the village last year.

A few weeks back I took a short trip to the Czech Republic, to see the village where my grandfather was born and grew up. I stayed in the wonderful city of Brno, and took the train on one occasion to the magnificent city of Olomouc, and another day to the town of Přerov and on to the tiny village of Cisařov where my grandfather came from.

As it happened I went there twice. The first day the whole of Přerov was almost a ghost town — it was St. Wenceslas day, and as he is the national saint, all the shops were closed, and the trains, for some obscure reason, were packed with people going from one quiet town to another!

I took a taxi into the small village, and had decided that I would ask the taxi driver (in my best pidgin/phrase book Czech) to pick me up an hour later. I soon decided against an hour long tour when I arrived, because after the first three minutes I would have seen everything and not needed the other fifty seven minutes left in the hour! The village was really tiny.

There was, of course, a very pleasant little church — although it was locked, I did manage to sneak the camera to the window and have a look inside. What was really wonderful, was that for the first time in my life, I was able to see the village my grandfather came from, and also to see the little church where he had been Baptised, Confirmed, and where my great-grandmother would have sat in her pew Sunday by Sunday.

These experiences are always deeply moving for us — even if we only have to go a few miles down the road to see where our ancestors came from.

Yet what was really moving , was seeing two stets of megaphones at either end of the village. Apparently during the early years of the Russian Occupation, the people of the towns and villages of what was then Czechoslovakia, would have to roll up for roll call at certain times of the day at the whim of their overlords.

Since the Berlin Wall fell and the Iron Curtain has disappeared, it is almost as if those times never were. For me to visit a FREE Czech Republic, which my grandfather had never lived to see, was an immense privilege, and deeply moving.

When we stand at the War Memorial on Remembrance Sunday, our thoughts and minds go to all those who have died in times of war and also those

Who came home from war with both physical and mental scars. For many of us there, we don’t even know what a ration book looks like, let alone ever having used one! But that doesn’t matter.

Because those who gave their lives — and those who sacrificed the quality of their own lives — made that important sacrifice for all of us.

Our few solemn minutes at the War Memorial remind us every year of how fortunate we have been in recent years, to live in peace and freedom. That great which we so clearly enjoy, and which at times we c don’t even think about.

Remembrance Sunday reminds that our freedom and peace did come at a price, and on that one Sunday each year, we continue to mourn those who died, and think of those who were to return home injured, and reflect on the difference that has made on our lives and futures.

On Remembrance Sunday this year, as always the 9:30 Solemn Eucharist will be a Solemn Requiem for the repose of the souls of all the war dead. It is a very important part of our annual calendar, and one which always reminds us of how privileged we are to take part in it.

As ever it is my great joy and privilege to serve as your parish priest,

With all good wishes’

Fr. Yenda.,

My Dear People of St. Mary’s, ,

Last year at around this time I was getting excited about my first Christmass here! This year has flown by so quickly, that I can hardly believe it is December again!

Having Christmass day on a Sunday is always a bit interesting – because it also means that New Years Day will also be a Sunday — and I daresay that even the most enthusiastic New year revellers amongst the clergy will be unable to stop out too far past the midnight hour….and trips to celebrate Hogmanay in Scotland will this year be practically impossible for most Vicars in the south!

Christmass is a wonderful time of year — and different people find different aspects of it which they enjoy – and aspects of it they don’t!

‘Christmas is a time for children!’ people say – and in a sense it is. They come downstairs on Christmass morning, see that Father Christmas has been and left a load of parcels and they set to town on opening them once permission has been given! I remember very well Christmass 1975 when my mother spent pretty much of all Christmas Day trying to match each present I had opened with the wrapping so that she would know who to thank for which presents!

Of course for the clergy there is the joy of all the services that happen — funnily enough I always enjoy that aspect of Christmass more than perhaps any other. Interestingly enough, that is the aspect which takes less time — so what does take all our time around December…?

…..Simply it is what seems to take our time throughout November, October and even September…. The shopping at Christmass!! Kids see what they want often before school starts back, parents look at their finances again as they do each year, and in not wanting to disappoint their kids, the credit cards once again come out, and the January statement is dreaded like a nasty dose of the ‘flu!

What worries me, is that year after year after year after year, the same thing happens…. The presents get bigger and more in number, and yet our wages tend not to increase all that much, generally speaking. Very often by January, the joy of Christmass has been replaced by that terrible sinking feeling of ‘where on earth is the money coming from?’

(Isn’t this terrible, the vicar depressing us at a time of year when we should be cheerful!!’) Well, perhaps; but what sort of priest would I be if I had no concern about such matters? After all a priest with the cure of the souls of his parish, is surely there to be concerned for the wellbeing of his people — and Christmass debt is becoming so much a national problem that it effects people’s well being in a very real and often very debilitating way.

The sad thing is, of course, that this is not what Christmass is actually about. Of course it is good to celebrate. Of course it is important to enjoy the Holy Season, of course it is important to make something of it… But ultimately we need, I think to recapture what this Holy Season is all about — to visit anew the Christ Child in that lowly stable...to visit anew that great joy that Mary had at the birth of her child. To rekindle that wonderful joy in a family when a new child is born — and when the children in a family have that wonderful gift of a new brother or sister. That exciting trip to the maternity ward! The excitement over who is going to give the baby their bottle, who will change the nappy, who will wind the baby...all this is part and parcel of the joy of a new baby in the family… and Christmass is so like that! Of course we can’t actually feed and clothe the infant in the stable in the way we would a new born baby, but at the same time, we can share in that world wide joy of Christ being born anew this year as He is every year.

So, I wish you all a very happy, Holy and Blessed Christmas —a time of great joy and fun and happiness throughout the Holy Season; and a very happy and blessed New Year too!.

It being my continual joy and privilege to serve as your parish priest,

With all good wishes’

Fr. Yenda.,