Dear Fellow Parishioners, Our present homily series, “Unleashing Healing and Hope” was born out of our pandemic experiences. The coronavirus has turned some of us into people we don’t recognize, and we need to figure out how to become OK with that. Pre-Covid, life was busy – maybe too busy - with booked evenings and packed weekends. Now, many are overwhelmed, filled with anxiety even though covid-19 has forced us to slow down. As Fr. Bill said last week, many of us are experiencing loss. Many are experiencing the loss of family members, relationships, jobs, income, our habits, our routines and even coffee dates with our friends. As a parish community, we are grieving the loss of the way that we would “normally” gather for worship, faith formation and parish events. If we are honest with ourselves, we fear the unknown – what does a post-Covid future look like? Our COVID-19 grief is real and our feelings of loss and fear are valid. So, where do we go from here? Over the next several weeks, Fr. Bill and Deacon Tom are going to explore the grieving process and steps toward healing and hope. I believe that each of us, as individuals, families and as a community of faith have the ability to reach the other side of this pandemic stronger, with a few new skills and an abundance of lessons learned. Using our new skills and new lessons, what do we want our parish life to look like in a post-Covid world? We are looking for your wisdom! On the front of our website, there is a link to a survey (https://sacredhearthopedale.org/). Please take a few moments and complete it. Let us know what you liked and wish to continue with in a post-Covid world. For those without computers, there will be copies of the survey at the doors of the church for you to complete. Simply place your completed surveys in the collection basket or mail to the parish office. So far, we have had 42 surveys completed. On this Good Shepherd Sunday, we need to acknowledge that grief is difficult. The emotions experienced are confusing and messy. We must understand our days we will not look the same as we are used to, and that is OK. We need to let the Good Shepherd guide us to an unknown future. Pam Chaplin