On Palm Sunday 2010, Bishop Sartain announced a "Year of the Eucharist" for 2010-11. In keeping with this emphasis on the Eucharist our parish theme for 2010-11 will be, "Bread for the Wilderness".

The wilderness is one metaphor that describes our times. The wilderness is a liminal place with few roads or signposts to guide the way. It is an inbetween place where fixed landmarks recede and what lies ahead is barely perceptible. The wilderness can be both frightening and appealing; a place where faith is tested and where new insights and callings take shape.

The wilderness can be felt in the fear and anxiety that hangs over the lives of many in our nation. This fear and anxiety is often rooted in an economic recovery that has been slow to reach many struggling families. It is felt by families and communities that are becoming fragmented by social and economic forces that make it difficult to nurture family values and a commitment to the common good.

The wilderness can be felt in the growing loss of trust in many of our business, government and religious institutions. Increasingly people feel these institutions are no longer accountable and no longer able to provide the leadership needed to address the many challenges we face.

The wilderness can be felt in communication technologies that have given us an explosion of information without increasing our capacity to understand each other. In this impersonal world of mass communication people often don´t take responsibility for the things they say and do. This has led to coarseness in public life and discourse.

The wilderness can be felt in the changing and uncertain global order, where addressing issues like climate change, terrorism and declining fossil fuels are challenging us to find new ways of working in partnership with the other nations. Our world has become a more interconnected and complicated place.

In this place of wilderness God is providing us bread for the journey. In the Eucharist we are given the strength to persevere in these difficult times. Fed with the Bread of Life we are filled with the courage needed to face the uncertainty. Nourished by the Body of Christ we can be hope for each other in times of doubt and anxiety.

We are also called to be bread for the world. As Eucharistic people we are called to feed those who hunger for the bread of compassion and justice. As the Body of Christ, we are called to imitate the life of Our Savior by healing the wounds of those who suffer and reconciling those who are alienated.

During the coming year we will explore the elements of this theme in our Sunday Liturgies, in our formation programs for adults and children and through our charity and justice work. Look for more information in the bulletin throughout the year.

Please see our Bread for the Wilderness Calendar of Events for a complete listing of this year's events.

We hope you will join our parish journey of faith, hope and love.