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Sunday, March 7, 2010 Dear fellow Parishioners of OLM, This weekend, I made an announcement at all our Masses, at the request of Archbishop George Niederauer. He had called to let me know I that would become the new pastor of St. Hilary Parish on July first. [Father James Tarantino, the current pastor up in Tiburon, will begin work as the new Vicar of Administration for the Archdiocese of San Francisco on that same date.] I thanked the Archbishop for allowing me to serve twelve wonderful years here at Our Lady of Mercy, and told him I looked forward to this new adventure up north. Twice before, the Priest Personnel Board had invited me to move, but I asked the Archbishop for permission to remain here at Our Lady of Mercy a couple more years, and he was extremely gracious in allowing this each time. Now, I am ready for a change, and I want to thank all of you for making me feel so welcome in your parish since I moved to Westlake back in 1998. By coincidence, the Archbishop's phone call came shortly after I had read a series of books by Philip Gulley, who writes about a Quaker pastor in the little town of Harmony, Indiana. "I had to leave my former parish after twelve years for health reasons," the pastor in the story explains. "They were sick of me!" While this may be the case for only a few people here, I want to apologize to all I have hurt by being grumpy, short-tempered or tired. Like all of you, I am just human, and sometimes I do react badly, especially when someone takes me by surprise or catches me on a really rotten day -- I ask your prayers and forgiveness. I also offer my prayers and pardon to those very few people here at OLM who have not been easy to live with. Just like in Philip Gulley's books, we are all a big mix -- and this is not only normal for every parish, but probably also healthy: "Here comes everyone!" There's a lot more I could say (and probably will -- you know how I go on), but for now I wanted you to learn this news from the horse's mouth. Starting tomorrow, the Archdiocese of San Francisco will be contacting the priests of our three counties, letting them know that OLM needs a new pastor this summer, and inviting them to apply for the pastorate. I pray that your new pastor, and the new principal of Our Lady of Mercy School, who both arrive this summer, will feel as blessed to be part of your community as I have done these past twelve years. Thank you, and God bless you. It will be very hard to leave the good people here, who have been part of my life for such a long time. However, I'm also looking forward to some new challenges up north, and you folks will always have a special place in my heart.
Father William E. Brown - Pastor Our Lady of Mercy Church 1 Elmwood Drive Daly City, CA 94015-3424
(650) 755-2727 office http://www.olmcath.org
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New Pastor for Our Lady of Mercy Parish |