Dear St. Gertrude Parishioners, I realize it has been over three weeks since I've updated you, but not a lot has happened both here in Reserve as I recuperate nor in Des Allemands as St. Gertrude's campus awaits restoring, rebuilding, and recovery. First of all, my orthopedic surgeon instructed me on my first post-op visit on Oct 18 that I I have to continue to wear the neck brace for another three weeks, and then, when I see him again on Nov 8, he will probably release me from the neck brace and allow me to drive again. Until such time, I need to continue to limit any activity that would strain or "undo" what the neck surgery has corrected, continue to wear the neck brace, and not drive a car. I've done these for three weeks already, and so I can do it again for another three. Thank you all for your prayers and good wishes. I am feeling quite strong and have been walking and on my feet since the late afternoon of my surgery day on Sept 28. The priests of the Archdiocese received a letter today (Oct 21) from the Archbishop with his update of the aftermath of Hurricane Ida. He informed us that within the next two weeks, all of the reports of the insurance adjusters should be finished and ready for review to show the full extent of damages to the 1400 properties/buildings/structures of our Archdiocese, certainly including our four buildings on St. Gertrude's campus: church, rectory, Fr. Mac building, and religious education classroom building. The archbishop reminded us that this very large number of buildings made the insurance adjustment process much longer and more involved. So, in summary of his letter, archdiocesan insurance will not cover everything, yet houses of worship, churches, and affiliated/related buildings to these churches, are eligible for FEMA reimbursement. But as we all know, FEMA reimbursement is a "bureaucratic and cumbersome process," (Archbishop Aymond's words) and probably will not be as fast as we would like. So all of our fellow parishioners around the archdiocese and our neighbors in the Houma-Thibodaux diocese, have to be patient and let the process move as it will because we can't do anything about it, and impatience will only make us miserable and not speed things up. Faith, hope, perseverance, and prayer are the keys to our well-being. With that being said, we cannot let rumors, hearsay, or speculation from anyone bring us to make final decisions or conclusions about the future of St. Gertrude parish, or any other parish, for that matter. It is entirely too premature to do such "prediction" because all vital information that is necessary for such decisions is not ready for the decision-makers. Speaking of "decision-makers," the vitality of a church parish depends on BOTH the involvement of its parishioners AND the pastor, not one OR the other, but BOTH together. Involved, engaged, and active parishioners cannot uphold and support a parish with a non-involved, non-engaged, non-active pastor, just as an involved, engaged, and active pastor cannot uphold and support a parish with non-involved, non-engaged, and non-active parishioners. The pastor AND the parishioners work together, never separately, in a healthy, vibrant parish, no matter how big or small the congregation. So just because St. Gertrude's has a small congregation at this time, that doesn't mean that Hurricane Ida has destroyed the FAITH, HOPE, and LOVE of St. Gertrude's parishioners along with our four heavily-damaged buildings. We the people of St. Gertrude's are always the decision-makers: we can make a premature decision that the future of St. Gertrude's is dark "because we are so small," or we can make a prudent decision that we don't know enough right now to make an informed decision on St. Gertrude's future, and that each parish and congregation is unique and worthy of consideration and value. What I have just said I applies not just to now, in the aftermath of Hurricane Ida, but it applied to St. Gertrude twenty years ago, ten years ago, five years ago, as well as now. St. Gertrude parish is made up of people and their pastor together, all working in building up the Body of Christ among us, doing whatever it takes to keep the community vibrant and vital, not only financially, but spiritually, with both these responsibilities not falling on a chosen few, but on ALL who make up the parish community of St. Gertrude the Great in Des Allemands. St. Gertrude the Great Church parish has had to take a good hard look at the regular contributions of its parishioners for several years now, and every contributor has to reallze that, as times change, so does the contribution amount need to change in order for St. Gertrude to be a vital and vibrant Catholic community that has the financial resources to be self-sufficient and to meet the spiritual needs of its members. Prior to Hurricane Ida, St. Gertrude Parish had no debt - at this minute, we still have no debt - but the damage caused by Ida is comparable as if the entire A/C & heating in the church has to be replaced next month or the entire plumbing system in the Fr. Mac building or the religious education building needs to be brought up to current building code as soon as possible. The reality is is that all our buildings because of IDA now have major problems that require major financial expenditures, and even with insurance and FEMA, we will have to put out money that we didn't have to put out because we are currently debt-free. But being debt-free doesn't mean that we are free from unexpected financial situations like ordinary equipment breakdowns or from extraordinary "breakdowns" like Hurricane Ida. We were not guaranteed that we could go on and on for months or years without having to use our savings, and we were and are currently using our savings to cover ordinary expenses well before Hurricane Ida. Bottom line: St. Gertrude parish (before Hurricane Ida) could not just continue to go on indefinitely with the income we currently took in, and now, with the damage of Hurricane Ida that will certainly bring additional expense, even after insurance and FEMA monies, the parish will have an additional financial obligation, and presently, there are no more financial cutbacks to make in our budget unless we have a volunteer (unpaid) secretary, a volunteer (unpaid) religious education director, and possibly, a volunteer (unpaid) pastor, and disconnect the one landline we have, and have minimal internet service, to list a couple more financial cuts. And I'm not exaggerating. So the future of St. Gertrude's is not the Archbishop's decision, nor my decision as pastor, but your decision as the parishioners who support the church parish by your regular participation, regular attendance, and regular financial support. It's all three of the above, not just one - participation, attendance, and financial support - on a regular basis - that sustain a parish, and St. Gertrude parish is in need of all three to continue to be a vital parish community. I have spoken to the Archbishop personally a number of times in the days immediately following Ida andup until now, and there is no talk at all between us about no future for St. Gertrude, but again, that decision doesn't come from him or me. It comes from all of us, and we all have to decide what is best for all of us. If St. Gertrude's parish is to continue, can we, who make up the St. Gertrude community, rise to the challenge of supporting it by attending, participating, and giving financially? Only we can answer this question. I know this has been a lot to take in at this time, but our current parish situation is a reality, and we have to face it in a realistic way. Hurricane Ida has dealt us a blow, but, with God, anything and everything is possible. More later, Fr. Ray