You are Living Stones (I Peter 2:5)
By the grace of God, I have spent four beautiful years with you. Truly, I have seen the beating of the Holy Spirit in many moments we shared and in many of our initiatives. I came to feel myself as one of you.
It is time to leave our beloved Penticton and move on to a different vineyard of the Lord. As you may have heard, the Bishop wants me to serve in Kelowna and Winfield. He also wants me to be the Chaplain of UBC Okanagan while I continue to be the Chaplain of Rachel’s Vineyard and Charismatic Renewal. All of these ministries happen in Kelowna and will minimize my driving.
In addition to that, I’ll be mentoring Fr. Biju who has been appointed the Youth Ministry Coordinator for the diocese. Fr. Biju is from Indian and was recently ordained. I used to be the baby priest in the diocese. Now, it is Fr. Biju.
Your baby priest is a toddler priest now and he’s moving on. Upon my arrival here: I had one mission – to come and love the people of God. I must say that Penticton lives up to the meaning of its name: it is truly a place to live forever. Here, I found love, I found my neighbors, I found people who love God and neighbour, and I have learned from you.
A priest is truly not his own. He is a brother who not only leads but more importantly journeys alongside God’s people in their hopes and fears, in their joys and sorrows. The Holy Spirit has ignited a fire among us. Something special has been awakened. We must now keep working together to fan that fire into flame.
As difficult as COVID was, our parishes not only survived but thrived and flourished. I look back at all that happened – Mass in the parking lot, hearing it in your FM stereo, 10 Masses on a weekend, for the first time celebrating Mass in a snow. Our ministry during COVID brought our community together. People who have been in the parish for a long time but hadn’t really connected with others began to connect and the pathway to authentic friendship emerged.
In our walk together, I learned something of the deeper meaning of sacrifice as I see husbands and wives give of themselves to each other in love and service. I can’t forget the man who in his seventies continue to open the doors of his car for his wife. The child who said to me: “Fr, I love Jesus more than anything else in this world; I pray 4 hours a day.” These are everlasting memories for me.
Together, we have invested in the lives of our families and the youth. Through the ‘Family Night’ events, our families were brought together in faith, fun and food. Our youth ministry has taken off as our young ones are brought to Jesus and Jesus to them. I can’t thank you enough, beloved parishioners for giving me the opportunity and according me the privilege to walk alongside you in our journey with the Lord. You made it all happen. Thanks be to God.
I started to write this on June 29th, the Solemnity of Peter and Paul – the pillars of the Church. Jesus said to Peter, upon you, Peter (Rock), I WILL build my Church. Peter was the big rock. Notice that Jesus says ‘I will.’ It is in the future tense. The Lord knows that there will be other rocks who will carry on the work of Peter. The Lord needs each and every one of us. Some of us are like shiny rocks, some are big rocks, some small, some smooth, some a little rough because of the burdens we have carried in life. We all are precious in the eyes of God. You matter.
Peter’s mission was entrusted to him because he knew the Lord: ‘You are Christ the Son of the living God.’ Peter will eventually feed the lamb as Jesus told him. He evangelized. The world is waiting; the world is hungry – for the real food: Jesus, the Bread of life. As someone once said: “An evangelizer is one beggar telling another where to find bread.” Let us keep evangelizing. This is the one thing I feel the Lord is calling us to do more—to make disciples, to evangelize.
As I begin a new journey, I ask you to accompany me with your prayer that I may do only the will of God in love.
I don’t want to leave without bidding you farewell and without giving you my heartfelt blessing. I also want to receive your own blessing. I invite you to our farewell and welcome celebrations for Fr. Neil and myself. Details in the bulletin.
Thank you, beloved parishioners, for what you do, each one building in his/her own way the Kingdom of God! You are living stones.
Ciao.
Your brother,
Fr. Obi