It’s all in the SMELL!  Okay, I may not be married but when you have a bunch of sisters there are just some things that become intuitively known.  For example, when you stop at Birch Run during a family trip, say goodbye to at least an hour of time when Mom and the sisters start shopping at Bath & Body Works.  My dad, my brothers-in-law and I have our favorite park benches where we’ll chat and people watch while they do their shopping.  I’m okay with the $1 per pump liquid hand soap, but I’ve been told that scented soaps are “important.”  I’ve learned this is something you just don’t question!
 
This past Sunday a conversation about scented soaps got started at dinner.  I wasn't paying attention at first because the conversation was taking place at the other end of the table.  I'm not sure how or why this particular conversation got started, but eagle ears here got locked on the discussion rather quickly.  I then heard one of my brothers-in-law start talking about what he termed the “old lady smell.”  He was saying that the flowery scented soaps from Bath & Body Works reminded him of an “old lady smell.”  I wasn't sure what he meant by the "old lady smell," but I figured this was going to get entertaining rather quickly (and probably turn into a bulletin article).  I was still trying to process what he was saying when I caught my sisters give him “the glare” (that is, the “you’re in trouble and you better start working your way out of it quickly” type of look).  My mom then started smelling her hand and wrist.  THIS was now getting interesting.  My brother-in-law was quick to say to my mom, “No, not you.”  To which my mom said, “Good.  But I just wanted to make sure I didn’t smell like an old lady.”
 
Milestone Weekend for TALLer Tales:  This is somewhat of a milestone weekend for TALLer Tales.  Each of my TALLer Tales columns is sequentially numbered when I give it a file name.  This edition of TALLer Tales is number 700!  I find it hard to believe I’ve written 700 editions of TALLer Tales thus far.  As I go back and review previous editions of TALLer Tales, I realize how this column has become somewhat of mega journal not only of the life, antics and escapades of my family but also of our amazing parish since I became pastor in 2004!
 
When I started including funny stories about my family and/or our parish life in TALLer Tales, I quickly learned from your comments how important it was to keep it going.  I enjoy hearing people laughing away in church as they read the bulletin.  Many times that laughter from others causes me to chuckle too because I’ll start recalling the incident that was the cause of the story in the first place.
 
And, yes, the stories are true!  Even after 700 editions of TALLer Tales, I still get an occasional person who skeptically questions how one family or one person could have all those things happen to them.  Believe me friends, I couldn’t make all this stuff up!
 
Thanks for being such faithful readers and for all of your great comments and encouragement over the years!  I enjoy writing TALLer Tales and I’m grateful I have a storehouse of things to write about.
 
Festival Volunteers Needed:  We still need plenty of volunteers to work the various areas of the festival.  While all areas need help, the highest number of openings remains in the Food Tent and Admission Gates.  If you are interested in helping in any area, please visit our festival volunteer homepage at http://www.sjascs.org/festivalvolunteering.  Even if you only have an hour to spare during festival weekend, we could use your help!  Just think, all the festival trucks start rolling in next Sunday!
 
Help US Help YOU!  If you ever find yourself being admitted to St. John Hospital or Beaumont, it would be a tremendous help to us if you identify yourself as Roman Catholic during the admissions process AND identify yourself as a St. Joan of Arc Parishioner.  With all the HIPAA laws, it is impossible to obtain information about any parishioner who might be in the hospital.  Identifying yourself as a Roman Catholic will help the Spiritual Care Department at both St. John and Beaumont make sure Holy Communion is brought to you.  Sr. Rose regularly visits our sick parishioners on Mondays at St. John's.  Of course, Fr. Rich handles all of the Beaumont visits.  While Fr. John and I may not always be able to stop by for a visit, we do our best to make phone calls when we can.  So, if you know of someone who might be in the hospital or who is sick, feel free to leave us a message and we will either reach out to them by phone or stop by the hospital if it can be worked out.  While I realize many know that Fr. Rich is the full-time priest at Beaumont Grosse Pointe, you should know that Fr. Joe Mahoney is our full-time priest at St. John Moross.  I'm grateful to Fr. Rich and Fr. Joe for their extraordinary hospital ministry.  We are so lucky to have them ministering at our local hospitals.
 
CSA 2018 and our Capital Campaign.  At most parishes across the Archdiocese of Detroit this weekend, parishioners will be watching a brief video from Archbishop Vigneron about this year’s Catholic Services Appeal:  Opening Doors to Grow with Christ.  After discussions with our consultants at Our Sunday Visitor and after receiving the necessary permissions from the Archdiocese of Detroit, a decision was made to roll our CSA into the capital campaign because of the proximity of the two campaigns.  As such, we will provide CSA materials during the Capital Campaign which will take place in mid-June.  Our case statement for the Capital Campaign includes four projects: 1) CSA 2018, 2) the roof, 3) a campus-wide LED conversion project, and 4) making the school gym handicap accessible.
 
More information about this year’s CSA can be found at www.aod.org/csa.  There you will be able to watch the video and look through other CSA 2018 resources.  Information about our Capital Campaign will be rolling out in late May and early June.
 
Enjoy the week.  Know of my prayers.
 
In Christ,
 
gmb
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